Income Tax

the accounts have not been actually collected by the taxpayer. Sometimes it is found that the books do not enable the taxpayer to ascertain the amount of his credit sales during the year. If this is so, take the amount of the outstanding accounts due you at the beginning of the taxable year and deduct this amount from the amount of the outstanding accounts due you at the end of the taxable year. The difference when added to your cash receipts for the year will show your total sales, both cash and credit. On the other hand, if the outstanding accounts due at the end of the year are less than at the beginning of the year, the difference should be deducted from your cash receipts to show your actual sales. If you are doing business as an individual, your contributions to organized to 15 per cent of your net income. This, however, is not the case if you are doing business as a corporation.

Taxes paid during the taxable year may all be deducted except your Federal income and profits taxes, which, under the law, are not deductible; but all Federal taxes, such as luxury taxes, excise taxes, admissions taxes, taxes on club dues, taxes on railroad fares, etc., may be deducted. These items are mentioned because, ordinarily, many of them might be overlooked by you because you would consider them as living expenses, as, for instance, taxes paid on railroad fares spent on a vacation trip.

An unmarried man whose net income amounted to $1,000.00 during the taxable year must file a return, even though he is the head of a family-as an in

stance, because he is supporting his widowed mother. In this case, however, his exemption is $2,000.00 and, though he must file the return, he is not liable to any tax unless his income exceeds $2,000.00.

A married man living with his wife must file a return if his net income is $2,000.00 or over.

The usual deduction for depreciation on store fixtures is at the rate of 10 per cent per annum of their original cost. The usual deduction on automobiles used in delivery service, etc., in the business is 25 per cent, and on brick buildings 3 per cent.

Prohibition

A ruling has been received from Washington to the effect that perfumes containing 1 ounce or more of essential oils per gallon do not require the addition of a denaturant. Those containing less than this amount must be denatured, but this does not apply to the stock you now have on your shelves put up in packages ready for sale. The following denaturants for bay rum and toilet preparations have been approved by the Bureau of Internal Revenue: Colocynth, 1 grain to the fluid ounce;

Quinine Alkaloid or Salt, 2 grains to the fluid ounce;

Resorcin or Salicylic Acid, 5 grains to the fluid

ounce.

These are in addition to the tartar emetic mentioned in our last issue as an allowed denaturant.

Applications for permits to purchase in most States must now be filed on Form 1410, bearing the advance approval of the prohibition director. The old form, without this approval, should be discontinued. The original application, but not the copies, must be sworn to. Do not overlook the changes in the formulae for medicating alcohol. The new formulae were published in our February issue, and the old formulae theretofore used are no longer allowable.

Narcotics

Do not overlook the fact that you must register by filing an application on Form 678 to handle "exempt" narcotic preparations. This costs you nothing, and you merely file an application on the form which will be furnished you by your collector. When it is filed he acknowledges receipt of the application and this acknowledgment should be kept by you with your narcotic permit.

Chantilly Preparations

"The Height of Perfection in Aids to Complexion."

The Old-Time Pharmacy Is Extinct

The drug trade of today has a new sense of proportion and the old-time pharmacy is no more. The corner drug store of our grandfathers passed with the development of the present generation. The old methods of doing business and the old ideas regarding the relations between pharmacy and other callings cannot successfully prevail today.

A drug store is no exception to the inflexible rule of change. A druggist is unable to go counter to the inevitable development of the calling. It is true that some remain in pharmacy who look upon the change as devolution, but in reality it is the evolution of pharmacy which is now taking place.

Buy Only the Very Best

in a way can be satisfying. Even more material than the moral responsibility resting on pharmacy is the legal situation. It is pleasing to know that the prohibition commissioner and the Department of Internal Revenue are giving evidence of willingness to cooperate with the various departments of pharmacy in entirely eliminating the sale in retail drug stores of alcoholic preparations for beverage purposes.

Purity and standard quality are essential for medicines used in the treatment of disease. This goes without saying. The drug store which tries to extend business on a reputation for cheap drugs is soon isolated. The commercial world is now in the remaking and among other things that are coming out of the crucible is a more adequate valuation of the. best of goods in all lines. In no other commercial calling is it so essential as in pharmacy to have a reputation for handling the best of goods in every department of business. Cheap sundries or other department merchandise do not fit in under the same roof with the U. S. P. and N. F. medicines. A real modern pharmacy, cannot hold good medicines and cheap merchandise and maintain the confidence of the public.

Shut Booze Out of the Drug Store Pharmacists worthy of the name do not handle alcoholic liquors for beverage purposes. Now is the opportunity of entirely shutting booze out of any place of business known as a drug store. There should be no further slur, even in the public mind, on pharmacy in this connection. The pharmacist should welcome the visits of the internal revenue agents and give them every possible co-operation in their work.

Prohibition brings the retail druggist certain inherent difficulties in handling preparations containing alcohol. The ruling thought and ambition everywhere should be to avoid the sales to customers who are looking for something to use as an alcoholic beverage. In doing so the pharmacist must keep an eye on his alcoholic, toilet, medicinal, and flavoring preparations. They are the ones which the customer will single out with a view of obtaining something which

Pharmacy Is Now Commercialized

Those who are studying the great problems pressing pharmacy for solution may not fully comprehend the true significance of commercialized pharmacy. This is not the only professional occupation which feels the force of commercial trends. The lawyer today recognizes his commercial relations to the community in which he practices. Medicine, perhaps the most conservative of all professions, is undoubtedly today the most powerful of all professions, particularly on account of recognizing the true relation between a profession and the business world. Even the modern church advertises. It is true that the advertising carried on in law, medicine, and theology is all conducted along ethical lines.

Pharmacy is just beginning to realize the necessity of a similar method of keeping in touch with the public and justifying the claim of pharmacy to the dignity of a profession. Individual pharmacists of skill in their calling have long been conscious of their responsibility to the customer. Now the public is becoming conscious of its obligation to the pharmacist.

The real pharmacist of today is distinguished from the mere commercialist by having his store a symbol for pharmaceutical service.

Old Method Dangerous

The old method of figuring percentages of profit was to use the cost of the article as a basis. If an article cost $1 and was sold at $1.50 the seller figured that his profit was 50 per cent; this is his gross profit. This method is correct, according to arithmetic, because 50 cents is 50 per cent of $1.00. But the danger of this kind of profit-figuring is that it does not take account of the cost of selling, store maintenance, etc., and unless these expenses are calculated and included in the selling price the merchant is likely to be continually deceiving himself as to his margin of profit.

The Up-to-Date Method

The generally accepted method today is to use the selling price as a basis of all calculations of expense and profit. Working on this plan the following rule may be used to determine the selling price:

Profit Figuring Rule Rule.-Determine the percentage of selling expense and the percentage of net profit desired. Add these two percentages and subtract from 100. Divide the remainder into the cost price and multiply the result by 100, the product will be the selling price.

An Easy Example

150 -100

MEYER

30

5 X

SHORT METHOD

divide by 90

divide by 72

..divide by 60

.divide by 52

divide by 45

divide by 40

divide by 36

divide by 30

How It Works Out

Example.-Interest on $50

for thirty days at 4 per cent, 50×30 $15, which, divided by 90, equals 16% cents-the required result.

Constant Demand for Something New

Example. What must be the selling price of an article that cost $2.25 to manufacture if the selling expense is 25 per cent and a profit of 20 per cent is desired?

Solution. Applying the rule just given, 20+25=45; 100-45-55; $2.25-55-4X100 $4, which is the selling price.

Proving the Rule

This may be proved by deducting 45 per cent of $4.09, or $1.84, from $4.09, which will leave $2.25, the cost of the article.

A Losing Method

The method followed by many is to merely add selling cost and profit to the cost price. Thus, if the cost was $1 and the cost of selling was 15 per cent of the sales and the desired net profit was 10

Do not be chary of the new creation. Dig out some new recipe, or, if none is readily available, create one. Try this new concoction on the junior clerk or the cashier, and if they find it entirely satisfactory, feature it to the trade; giving it a name in keeping with its composition and describing in detail the ingredients. The new book, the new song, and the new soda-fountain specialty all find eager buyers, and the man who features them profits by his progressiveness.

Do as Well as a Hen

A hen never quits scratching because worms are

scarce.

One of the most frequent means by which disease enters the body is through the mouth. It is very important, therefore, to keep the mouth and teeth clean and to avoid putting articles that might convey disease germs to the mouth and from the mouth to other parts of the body. Dirty fingers placed in the mouth and articles that have been handled either by yourself or other people should be kept out of the mouth until you are pretty certain that the articles are clean.

In keeping the mouth clean one of the most vital things to consider is the care of the teeth. Bad teeth and teeth that are not kept clean are prolific sources of disease. Sometimes people have trouble with their joints, or with the muscles, that cause pains which are often called "rheumatic pains," "sore muscles," "painful joints," etc., but as a matter of fact these conditions are due to a poison introduced in the body from a bad condition of the teeth. If the teeth get so bad that they will cause the poisonous products to circulate in the blood it is then necessary to go to a dentist, which oftentimes causes severe pain and loss of time merely because of neglect in keeping the teeth clean. How much better it would be to form the habit of cleaning the teeth daily, for by doing so we prevent much suffering, save money and lengthen life.

There is nothing simpler than the habit of keeping the teeth clean but it requires constant and repeated attention. Young folks especially are prone to put off attention to their teeth because it is hard for them to understand how unbrushed teeth can be hurtful to them, so it is necessary to instruct them and watch them carefully until they have formed the habit and realize the beauty of clean, white teeth and clean, healthy, pink, gums.

There are two ways of cleaning the teeth: (1) brushing and (2) using silk floss between the teeth.

How to Use a Tooth Brush

In brushing the teeth the brush should not be merely rubbed over the surface of the teeth back and forth for a few times because that does not remove the particles thoroughly. The proper way to brush the teeth is to brush them up and down so that the bristles of the brush will penetrate between the teeth. This should be repeated on the inside of the teeth also. The grinding surfaces of the teeth then should be brushed very thoroughly, and then finally the gums should be also rubbed with the brush. Strong pressure either on the gums or on the teeth is not necessary. A soft brush is much

This is Good Propaganda for the Sale of Tooth Brushes.

Pass the Information on to Your Customers.

better than a very stiff one. If after brushing with the brush it is found that there are still some particles of food in the crevices between the teeth a piece of silk floss should be used and pressed down between the teeth and passed back and forth several times until the particle is released. The silk floss should be about 12 inches long; one end should be held by the thumb and first finger of the left hand and the other end with the right hand and then pushed down between the teeth. After a little practice one can readily floss the surfaces between the teeth in a very few seconds.

How the Teeth Decay

Almost all decay of the teeth begins on the surface between the teeth and on the grinding surface of the teeth. By keeping the grinding surface of the teeth and the spaces between the teeth free from particles of food there will be very small opportunity for the teeth to decay. It is quite wonderful how these small particles of food when allowed to remain in an out of the way place on the teeth will ferment and dissolve the hard enameled surface of the teeth and do it in such a way that the person is wholly unconscious of the fact that his teeth are being ruined. Oftentimes it is not discovered until suddenly one day we wake up with a pain in our teeth and find that we have to go to a dentist for a filling if not to have some of the teeth removed.

Another important factor in keeping the teeth and mouth clean is the habit of going to a dentist at least twice a year to see if the teeth need any attention. The dentist can readily find any small place of suspicion and can remove a beginning decay if it has not progressed too far without filling. If the decay has broken through the enamel the teeth can usually be saved when the decay is slight or has not yet penetrated deep into the roots or gums.