OCR Text |
Show Inside today's Signpost Arts & Entertainment Classified News Opinion Sports page 5 page 8 page 2 page 4 page 7 A moral dilemma faces Utahns see page 4 High school football camp at Weber see page 2 French students come to Utah see page 2 A. VP ' t ':.. A- Fa. i I - Tuesday, July 5, 1988 Weber State college Lunch not essential m d il dp Scott Summerill Managing Editor The dining facilities on Utah campus and many functions of religious organizations in the state began charging sales tax to patrons as of July 1 in accordance with Utah tax legislation passed a year ago. Grant Protzman, title, said the legislation was passed a year ago to "plug a tax loophole." According to Protzman, the law states that as long as the function is essential to the mission of the institution, it is exempt from the tax. However, if the functions not essential it is subject to the same taxes as any other private enterprise. "If an Institutional Counsel was to hold an all-day meeting," said Protzman, "it would be deemed a necessary function to the mission of the institution and would be exempt from taxation. But, if Suzie student wants to have lunch between class, it is a convenience and is taxable." Protzman said the same guidelines apply to church functions. "A one time function put on as a fund-raiser by a church would be taxable, whereas an ongoing function that is essential to the mission of the church would maintain a tax exempt status," he said. "Although serving lunch is not necessary for the educational goals of the institution," said Protzman, "we could argue that lunches are essential to the lifestyle of students while they pursue their education." Mary Anne Prcece, director of Weber State dining facilities, said the taxation in the campus facilities is the same as those of any other business now. "We have to send in our share to the state just like everyone else now," she said. Prcece said that even though the dining facilities are paying taxes, they are not allowed to advertise and compete with other businesses off campus. According to Protzman, the logic behind denying campus facilities to compete with private enterprises off campus is a matter of funding. "A business that is backed with private funds should not be subject to competition by a state or publicly funded institution," he said. "What it really is," said Prcece, "is a great way for the state to raise revenue." The Russians have landed Scott Summerill Managing Editor Travis Air Force Base in California received a 70-member Soviet inspection team Friday to begin the process of inspecting missile plants in accordance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. A four-member Soviet advance team arrived in Salt Lake City late Monday, June 27 to finalize living arrangements for about 20 of the arms inspectors scheduled to inspect Utah's Hercules plant for compliance with the INF treaty. The advance team worked with Igor Khripunov, first secretary of the Soviet embassy in Washington, and three technical experts to make the inspectors' stay in Utah as comfortable as possible, according to an Associated Press report. The team of inspectors arc expected to decide the site they want to look at first and begin inspection 24 hours a day their inspections by Monday, July 4. It is expected that the Utah Hercules plant will be one of the first on the agenda for the team. Hercules produced Pershing missile engines until about a year ago and now, under the INF treaty, the missile are banned. The inspectors are in Utah to insure the terms of the treaty are adhered to. Hercules is the only plant in the United States that will be subject to for as long as 13 years. The other 21 sites in the U.S. and Europe subject to Soviet inspection under the treaty are on a short inspection schedule of no longer than 48 hours at a time. According to a Salt Lake Tribune report, the Hercules plant has hired an additional 30 security guards and spent $2 million to improve the security and build an inspection portal to meet the requirements of the Soviet inspectors. Utah's business activities down Business activity declined in Utah during 1987 for the third consecutive year. This was reported by Utah Foundation, the private research organization in their annual analysis of business activity in Utah. According to the study, sales volume, as measured by sales and use tax receipts, dropped by 1.5 percent last year. In addition, the purchasing power of the dollar was down by 3.6 percent. Thus, when an adjustment is made for inflation, the total reduction in the effective sales volume amounted to 5 percent in 1987. In contrast to the Utah experience, personal consumption expenditures throughout the U.S. rose by 6 percent last year. Even after allowance is made for inflation, personal consumption expenditures were up by 1.9 percent in 1987. Thus, it is clear that business activity in Utah lagged behind that of the nation as a whole. Foundation analysts point out, however, that there are some recent signs that the Utah economy may be improving. Although business activity was down for the year as a whole, it was up by 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 1987. Furthermore, unemployment in the state has declined and personal income has continued to grow. Total sales volume in Utah during the 1987 calendar year was $12.2 billion. This was equal to nearly 80 percent of personal income. In other words, Utahns currently arc spending a much smaller proportion of their (see BUSINESS on page 2) Vol. 48 No. 78 I o C F - L t tA fir |