in the result and where such use might result in making public the information contained therein, whether or not the request for the copy is contained in an order of the court. This provision is not a limitation on the use of copies of returns by the persons entitled to such copies under the provisions of the succeeding paragraph.

(2) A copy of an income return may be furnished by the Commissioner to the person who made the return or to his duly constituted attorney; or if the person is deceased, to his executor or adminis trator; or if the person is in the hands of a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, guardian, or similar legal custodian, to the receiver, trustee, guardian, or other similar custodian upon written application for same, accompanied by satisfactory evidence that the applicant comes within this provision. "The person who made the return," as herein used, refers in the case of an individual return to the individual, a copy of whose return is desired, and in the case of a return of a corporation, association, joint-stock company, insurance company, or fiduciary, to the corporation, association, joint-stock company, insurance company, or fiduciary, a copy of whose return is desired. A corporation, association, joint-stock company, or insurance company may designate by proper action of its board of directors or other similar governing body, the officer or individual to whom a copy of a return made by the corporation, association, joint-stock company, or insurance company may be furnished, and upon sufficient evidence of such action and of the identity of the officer or individual, a copy may be furnished to such person. A copy of a partnership income return may be furnished to any individual (or his duly constituted attorney in fact or legal representative) who was a member of such partnership during any part of the time covered by the return, upon satisfactory evidence of such fact being furnished. A copy of a corporation income return may be furnished to a shareholder entitled to inspect the return upon submission of the evidence required by article 424. The copy of the return will, however, be furnished only to the shareholder and he will not be permitted to delegate another to receive it in his behalf. In the case of a corporation which has been dissolved, a copy of the return of the corporation may be furnished to any person who could have received a copy at the date of dissolution. A copy of an income return in the custody of a collector or of an internal revenue agent in charge may be furnished by the collector or by the internal revenue agent in charge to a person entitled to receive a copy of such return under this paragraph upon written application for same, accompanied by satisfactory evidence that the applicant comes within its provisions. Where a photostat is requested and the col

lector or the internal revenue agent in charge has not the available facilities for making such copy, the written request for the copy must be sent to the Commissioner at Washington.

(3) A copy of an income return may be furnished to any person who may be permitted to inspect the return as provided in article 421.

(4) Certified copies of returns will be furnished to the persons entitled thereto only upon written request for same sent to the Commissioner at Washington.

(5) The Commissioner may prescribe a reasonable fee for furnishing copies of returns.

ART. 423. Access to returns by State officers.-(1) The proper officers of a State are entitled as of right upon the request of its governor to have access to the income and profits tax returns of a corporation or to an abstract thereof, showing its name and income.

(2) The request or application of the governor must be in writing, signed by him under the seal of his State, and must show: (a) The name and address of the corporation making the returns to which access is desired; (b) why access is desired; (c) the names and official positions of the officers designated to have the access.

(3) The request or application of the governor may be addressed either to the Secretary of the Treasury or to the Commissioner, but should be transmitted to the Commissioner, who will set a convenient time and place for the access to the returns (or to an abstract thereof as he may determine).

(4) Access shall be given only in the office of the Commissioner, unless such returns are in the custody of a collector of internal revenue or internal revenue agent in charge, in which event the return may be inspected in the office of such collector or agent, but only in the presence of an internal revenue officer designated by the collector or agent for that purpose.

(5) The officers designated by the governor will not be permitted to name another person or persons to examine the returns (or abstracts) for them.

(6) The officers designated may have access to lists furnished to supplement and become a part of the returns to which they are given

access.

(7) The proper officers of a State may have access to the capital stock tax returns filed under the provisions of section 700 of the Revenue Act of 1924 and section 1000 of the Revenue Acts of 1918 and 1921 under the same conditions prescribed in the preceding paragraphs for access to the income and profits tax returns of corporations.

ART. 424. Examination of returns by shareholder.-A bona fide shareholder of record owning 1 per cent or more of the outstanding stock of a corporation shall be entitled as of right, upon making request of the Commissioner, to examine the annual income returns of such corporation and of its subsidiaries, and all returns of such corporation and subsidiaries filed for purposes of the tax imposed by section 1000 of the Revenue Acts of 1918 and 1921, or by section 700 of the Revenue Act of 1924. His request for permission to examine such returns must be made in writing, and must be in the form of an affidavit showing his address, the name of the corporation, the period of time covered by the return he desires to inspect, the amount of the corporation's outstanding capital stock, the number of shares owned by him, the date when he acquired them, and whether he has the beneficial as well as the record title to such shares. It must also show that he has not acquired his shares for the purpose of the examination of the income returns of the corporation. If he has acquired them for such purpose, he is not a bona fide shareholder within the meaning of the statute. The application must be supported by satisfactory evidence showing that the applicant is a bona fide shareholder of record of the required amount of stock of the corporation. The supporting evidence may be partly in the form of a certificate signed by the president or vice president of the corporation and countersigned by the secretary under the corporate seal. Upon being satisfied from the evidence presented that the applicant has fully met these conditions, the Commissioner will grant the permission to examine the returns and set a convenient time and place for the examination. This privilege is personal and will be granted only to the shareholder, who can not delegate it to another.

ART. 425. Penalties for disclosure of returns. A shareholder who examines the return of a corporation and reveals without express authority of law any particular of its income statement is guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to fine and imprisonment. Section 3167 of the Revised Statutes, as amended by the Revenue Act of 1918 and reenacted without change by section 1115 of the Revenue Act of 1926, provides as follows:

SEC. 3167. It shall be unlawful for any collector, deputy collector, agent, clerk, or other officer or employee of the United States to divulge or to make known in any manner whatever not provided by law to any person the operations, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer cr producer visited by him in the discharge of his official duties, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth or disclosed in any income return, or to permit any income return or copy thereof or any book containing any

abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person except as provided by law; and it shall be unlawful for any person to print or publish in any manner whatever not provided by law any income return, or any part thereof or source of income, profits, losses, or expenditures appearing in any income return; and any offense against the foregoing provision shall be a misdemeanor and be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court; and if the offender be an officer or employee of the United States he shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment.

An internal revenue officer discovering in the course of his duty information leading him to suspect a possible violation of any law with the enforcement of which he is not directly concerned should immediately report the matter to the Commissioner, who is authorized to communicate with the proper department involved.

SEC. 56. PAYMENT OF TAX.

(a) Time of payment.-The total amount of tax imposed by this title shall be paid on the fifteenth day of March following the close of the calendar year, or, if the return should be made on the basis of a fiscal year, then on the fifteenth day of the third month following the close of the fiscal year.

(b) Installment payments.-The taxpayer may elect to pay the tax in four equal installments, in which case the first installment shall be paid on the date prescribed for the payment of the tax by the taxpayer, the second installment shall be paid on the fifteenth day of the third month, the third installment on the fifteenth day of the sixth month, and the fourth installment on the fifteenth day of the ninth month, after such date. If any installment is not paid on or before the date fixed for its payment, the whole amount of the tax unpaid shall be paid upon notice and demand from the collector.

(c) Extension of time for payment.-At the request of the taxpayer, the Commissioner may extend the time for payment of the amount determined as the tax by the taxpayer, or any installment thereof, for a period not to exceed six months from the date prescribed for the payment of the tax or an installment thereof. In such case the amount in respect of which the extension is granted shall be paid on or before the date of the expiration of the period of the extension.

(d) Voluntary advance payment.-A tax imposed by this title, or any installment thereof, may be paid, at the election of the taxpayer, prior to the date prescribed for its payment.

(e) Advance payment in case of jeopardy.-For advance payment in case of jeopardy, see section 146.

(f) Tax withheld at source. For requirement of withholding tax at the source in the case of nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, and in the case of so-called "tax-free covenant bonds," see sections 143 and 144.

(g) Fractional parts of cent.-In the payment of any tax under this title a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to 1 cent.

Art. 425

§ 56

(h) Receipts.-Every collector to whom any payment of any income tax is made shall upon request give to the person making such payment a full written or printed receipt, stating the amount paid and the particular account for which such payment was made; and whenever any debtor pays taxes on account of payments made or to be made by him to separate creditors the collector shall, if requested by such debtor, give a separate receipt for the tax paid on account of each creditor in such form that the debtor can conveniently produce such receipts separately to his several creditors in satisfaction of their respective demands up to the amounts stated in the receipts; and such receipt shall be sufficient evidence in favor of such debtor to justify him in withholding from his next payment to his creditor the amount therein stated; but the creditor may, upon giving to his debtor a full written receipt acknowledging the payment to him of any sum actually paid and accepting the amount of tax paid as aforesaid (specifying the same) as a further satisfaction of the debt to that amount, require the surrender to him of such collector's receipt.

ART. 431. Date on which tax shall be paid. The tax, unless it is required to be withheld at the source (see sections 143 and 144) or unless it is to be paid by a nonresident alien individual (see section 218) or a foreign corporation not having any office or place of business in the United States (see section 236), is to be paid on or before the 15th day of March following the close of the calendar year, or, where the return is made on the basis of a fiscal year, on or before the 15th day of the third month following the close of such fiscal year. (But see article 403.) The tax may, at the option of the taxpayer, be paid in four equal installments instead of in a single payment, in which case the first installment is to be paid on or before the date prescribed for the payment of the tax as a single payment, the second installment on or before the 15th day of the third month, the third installment on or before the 15th day of the sixth month, and the fourth installment on or before the 15th day of the ninth month, after such date. Where the taxpayer elects to pay the tax in four installments, each of the four installments must be equal in amount, but any installment may be paid, at the election of the taxpayer, prior to the date prescribed for its payment. If an installment is not paid in full on or before the date fixed for its payment either by the Act or by the Commissioner in accordance with the terms of an extension, the whole amount of the tax unpaid shall be paid upon notice and demand from the collector. ART. 432. Extension of time for payment of the tax or installment thereof. The Commissioner, at the request of the taxpayer, may extend the time for payment of the amount determined as the tax by the taxpayer, or any part or installment thereof, for a period. not to exceed six months from the date prescribed for the payment. of such amount, part, or installment. Any application for such