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Show irmf nirtgi Its That Time of Year Again - WASHINGTON (AP) Taxpayers will get their annual greeting from Unde Sam on Thursday, along with a rare apology from the government, as the Postal Service begins to deliv- er 87 million 1985 income tax forms a.id instruction packets The government's largest mass mailing always follows Christmas. Forms have been stacked at postal centers for days, with instructions to send them after the Christmas mail crush. The Internal Revenue Service esti mates that taxpayers should receive their packages between Dec. 28 and Jan. 10 That gives people who are anxious for refunds a jump on completing their returns ahead of the April 15 deadline Last year was a disaster for the IRS because foulups in switching to a new computer system delayed millions of refund checks. In a letter on the front of this year's forms, IRS Commissioner Roscoe L. Egger Jr. says he regrets the "difficulties and inconvenience that result from the delays and that the IRS believes last year s problems won't recur ed The 1985 forms resemble past versions. but there is one difference sure to delight taxpayers: a slight lowering of the tax rates An "indexing" law enacted in 1981 to reduce inflation s effects on the tax system is being implemented for the first time. Indexing is aimed at eliminating "bracket creep," the phenomenon that pushes a taxpayer into a higher tax bracket when he or she IRS Sends Greetings to All receives a pay raise to olfset an crease in living costs. in- The indexing changes for 1985 widen the brackets by 4.1 percent so more income will be taxed at a lower rate, raise the personal exemption from $1,000 to $1,040, and increase standard deductions for people who do not itemize. Based on the inflation rate this year, the 1988 tax indexing changes will increase those amounts by another 3 7 percent, which will be reflected on next year's forms. depend on what they filed last yeai The IRS is mailing out 47 8 million 1U4U "long forms which are used by people who itemize deductions or who make more than $5(1 noil Other changes for 1985, which are explained in the tax instruct.ons, involve alimony payments, deductions for charitable contributions, the earned-income credit for taxpayers and new rules covering divorced or separated parents who claim children as dependents. Another 39 4 million paekets will include the short 1U4A form and the 1U40EZ form The 1U40A can be used by married or single people whose taxable income is under $5O.UO0. The 1U40EZ. the simplest of all the forms, can only be used by single people who make less than $50,000 with interest income of $400 or less. e For single people, the standard deduction is increased to $2,390. up from $2,300, and for couples filing a joint return the $3,400 standard deduction rises to $3,540. The forms taxpayers receive will Christmas Spirit Captures By Charlotte Porter Associated Press Writer From the White House to Wisconsin highways to shelters in downtown Dallas, Americans celebrated Christmas Day in the spirit of giving. Families flocked to churches nationwide, gathered around sparkling trees to open eagerly awaited gifts and tried in ways large and small to give comfort to those less fortunate. In suburban Columbus, Ohio, Ann Buchanan, haunted by a recurring dream of a hand reaching up from a gutter, spent $2,100 for 150 turkey dinners, gave away 200 coats and distributed Christmas cards containing $10 bills to the residents of a shelter. I just love people and I think they need help, she said. Tennesseans pitched in with cash, toys and food to help the family of a girl who died last weekend in a fire in her home. Jessica Renee Jones, safely out of the house, had seen her father fall in a front room and rushed back inside screaming, Daddy, Daddy. Her father made it out alive; the girl apparently lost her way in the thick smoke. I realized how lucky God has made me, said Earl Cullum Jr a car dealer who drove 20 miles to to drop off a check for $500. I've been so fortunate. I just wanted to help them have a better Christmas. Americans from New England to Oklahoma had a white Christmas, and fog that had blanketed the Seattle Wa-ver- ly United Pru International Photo of the generals Christmas crossing of Delaware River in 1776. al James Gallagher, in bow, portrays George Washington during the 33rd annu W. Etnas Eruption Triggers Quakes, Killing Four rivCATANIA, Sicily (AP) ers of glowing red lava streamed down Mount Etna Wednesday following a surprise eruption that triggered an earthquake. The quake destroyed a resort hotel, killing one person and injuring 12 other guests, officials said. A Catania city official said about 200 firefighters, police and civil defense workers were ready if it became necessary to evacuate about 5.000 residents of two villages on the southern slope of Europe's most active volcano. However, the official. Roberto Sorge, told The Associated Press by telephone the towns did not appear to be in danger because the molten lava streaming from a height of about 5,905 feet was being trapped in a large reservoir about 1.640 feet below. "There's a lot of space in the reservoir, and as long as it continues to flow there, there is no danger, he said. The villages of Zafferana and Milo are about six miles away from the place of the eruption, on the volcanos southeast side along a tremendous cleft called the Valle del Bove. Sorge also said experts determined the eruption at 3:45 a.m. triggered a series of earthquakes. He said one of the tremors caused the collapse of a resort hotel on the mountain's slope. One man was killed and 12 other people were injured, none seriously. Sorge said. Police said the dead man, whom Italian media identified as Carmelo di Stefano, was hit by a falling beam. He had been spending the Christmas d volcano holidays at the with his family. Sorge said the 12 injured people were taken to a hospital in nearby Linguaglossa. State-ru- n RAI television said many guests ran out of the hotel when they felt smaller tremors, but that the injuries occurred after the third and strongest quake, which struck after they returned to the hotel because of the extreme cold. Police said chairs, mattresses and Mt. Etna 1 Erupts snow-cappe- Mt. Etna: 10,958 feet high About 200 small craters 130 recorded eruptions The four deaths brought to 15 the number of people killed in the two days leading to Christmas. Five whites died Monday in a terrorist bombing at a beach resort south of Durban and six people were killed in violence Tuesday. In unrelated tribal warfare, 40 blacks were killed Tuesday night in battles between some 2.000 Zulus and about 3.000 Rondo tribesmen in the i i Umbumbulu hills about 15 miles south of Durban, a police spokesman reported Wednesday. Police remained in the Umbumbulu area to enforce a peace. N Feuds between the Zulus and Pon-do- s have erupted since before the turn of the century, and clashes between warriors in remote hills are not uncommon. Mandela, leader of the banned African National Congress, is now in the 23rd year of a life sentence for treason and sabotage. His wife told reporters her husband's Christmas was the worst of his jailing. "This past Christmas is far worse than any other Christmas in prison because he was in solitary confinement. We saw him in his prison pajamas." she said after the meeting in Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town i But in Southern California, thousands abandoned their homes to bask in sunshine and summery temperatures on California beaches. It's way hot, said Malibu lifeguard Spike Beck. It is crowded and the weather is absolutely great. It's surfboard test day here. The kids are all down here with their Christmas surfboards and new wetsuits. Beck said tourists also basked in the sunshine, most notably University of Iowa football fans awaiting the New Year's Day Rose Bowl contest between the Hawkeyes and UCLA. This is Dubuque West, he said. "They are all here in their Iowa sweatshirts, and they are going in the water. They're nuts. It's 56 degrees (in the ocean). In New York City, thousands of people streamed into St. Patrick's Cathedral for Christmas Masses. Fifth Avenue was busy with window shoppers although stores were closed. In New England, history buffs staged the 33rd annual of George Washingtons crossing of the Delaware River. The event commemorates Washington's surprise Christmas attack on 1,400 Hessian soldiers Dec. 25, 1776. Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and Cardinal Bernard Law shared their Christmas meal with residents of a shelter for the homeless. While 1,800 people took refuge in Chicago shelters as temperatures dropped below zero, many of Los Angeles homeless stood shirtless as they awaited free turkey dinners at missions. d Margaret Schollar, mayor of a said W.Va., Rowlesburg, Turkey TroV race raised $900 to help buy 120 turkeys for flood victims. At the Dallas Life Foundation shelter in downtown Dallas, Santa handed out toys to needy youngsters, while Peter Perkins, an unpaid chaplain at the Maricopa County, Ariz., Court Center, made sure that each of the youngsters confined on Christmas Day had a present to unwrap. You just have to be there to see the look in their eyes, he said. Other secret Santas posted bail so inmates could go home for Christmas. In Wisconsins Jackson and Clark counties, some motorists being pulled over found that, instead of tickets, police wanted to present them with gifts including cheese and candy. In Valatie, N.Y., each of the towns 500 or so children children received a Sanpresent from helicopter-born- e Santa tas, members of a Claus Club established by a World War II veteran who wanted to fight destitution at home. I feel very strong about it because for 10 years I was visited by Santa Claus, said Kevin Murray, who helped direct this year's effort. By John lams United Press International MOSCOW The Soviet Union confirmed Wednesday that an Aeroflot jet was hijacked to China last week and said the passengers and crew had returned home. Moscow said there was a sole hijacker but a Chinese official said four were in custody. The announcement by the official news agency Tass was the first official confirmation by the Soviet Union of the Dec. 19 hijacking the first publicly announced hijacking since 4 five people attempted to hijack a She said her husband. 67, was being denied access to other prisoners, some of whom he has known for more than 20 years. He has seen another inmate only once since returning to Pollsmoor after prostate surgery last month, she charged. He is now held in solitary confinement under the pretext that he is in prison hospital, she said. There is no justification at all for him being held in solitary. "Treating him as if he is a visitor to Pollsmoor and that he has to ask permission to see his cellmates is an extraordinary situation, said Mandela, who was accompanied by her daughter, Zinzi, and family attorney Akbar Ayob. Christmas has ceased to have any specific meaning to the oppressed people of this country," she said Shultz: A Lot Of People Want Me Out By George Gedda Associated Press Writer - WASHINGTON At a White House Christmas party for top government officials, Secretary of State George P. Shultz told an acquaintance there were a lot of people present who want him out of the admin- istration. Indeed, there appears to be accelerating sentiment, mostly among that Shultz should be replaced. It is not clear how widespread that attitude is and Shultz seems to have retained the confidence of President Reagan. One official, who believes Shultz should be let go. said it is a close call as to whether he will be. hard-liner- - -- I s, well-place- d Last Friday, after apparently patching up his differences with Reagan over polygraph testing, Shultz seemed to be in a jovial mood. His smiling demeanor suggested Reagan essentially had come around, to Shultz's view that polygraph testing, if used at all, should be limited to officials suspected of spying. A day earlier he had told State Department reporters he would resign before submitting to lie detectors and some in the administration feel the secretary did Reagan a serious disservice by making his complaints ! public. All of the officials interviewed about Shultz's status insisted on anonymity. White House spokesman Ed Djerejian, State Department deputy spokesman Charles Redman and National Security Council spokeswoman Kama Small all declined comment- At the White House Christmas party last Thursday, hours after Shultz's outburst, a State Department colleague overheard him talking about the campaign against him. Another official said Shultz was advised by other colleagues that he should cool it lest he give additional ammuni' tion to his enemies. . White House press secretary Larry Speakes said the next day the administration was not concerned about See Column A-- 4 Tu-13- An Antonov-2plane, flying a local Aeroflot route, had to alter its course as a result of forcible actions by an armed criminal on board, and landed in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China. Tass said. 4 According to Tass, The Chinese side adopted measures for finding the plane and returning the passengers and crew home as soon as possible." The Soviet side expressed gratitude to the Chinese authorities for the spirit of cooperation y in 1983. See e Tass said the plane, a , Antonov-24a doon was turboprop mestic flight from the border town of Nerchinski Zavod to Irkutsk, 700 miles to the west, when it was hijacked and forced to land in a cow pasture. A-- Columii 4 twin-engin- Todays Forecast Soviet-Chines- Salt Lake City and vicinity tinued cold and foggy. Highs in upper 20s; lows in the teens. Details. Con- B-- Todays Chuckle. e The problems of youth are like, snow they both disappear if you ignore them long enough C ) 4 fr- It Advised to Cool Soviets Admit Aeroflot Jet Was Hijacked to China Mandela Visits Her Husband in Prison As Racial Unrest Leaves 4 More Dead JOHANNESBURG. South Africa Winnie Mandela, calling (UPI) Christmas a "day of mourning for South African blacks, made a holiday visit to her husband. Nelson, in the Cape Town prison where the black nationalist leader is serving a life term. New racial unrest shattered the holiday elsewhere in South Africa, leaving four more people dead. in Reno, Nev. Fog in Massachusetts forced some smaller carriers to cancel Wednesday's flights into and out of Boston. flood-ravage- other furniture came crashing through several floors of the Hotel Le Betulle, a cement and wooden structure. About 35 guests were registered at the hotel when the volcano erupted and many guests were rescued in the middle of the night, police said. Experts said the hotel was directly over the epicenter of the strongest earthquake, which registered 7 on the Mercalli scale equivalent to 5 on the Richter scale. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale can do considerable damage. Mount Etna, Europe's largest volcano, has about 200 small craters. There have been about 130 recorded eruptions, many of which also occurred along the Valle Del Bove in recent years. The last major eruption was in May 1983. when dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed. area for a week thinned enough to allow hundreds of stranded travelers to depart But the thick fog was expected to return with nightfall, and flights were canceled for a fourth day mk ite n |
