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Show I, V BASIN STANDARD. Sflnt.pmber 6. 1989 Official gives hints on how to reduce taxes During the dog daya of Rummer, tax planningmay be the least of your worries. But if you havent already taken steps to reduce your tax bill next April, you sre running out of time. To find out if you are doing all you can to trim your taxes, Bart Morrill, Uintah Basin Chapter President of the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, suggests you review these tax tips. Minimize the Medicare Surtax. Ifyou're eligible for Medicare, your tax load will be heavier this year. For each $150 of federal income tax liability, you will owe an additional $22.50. Luckily, the mid-ye- ar surtax has an annual cap. In 1989, the maximum surtax is $800 if single and $1,600 if married and both spouses are eligible for Medicare. To buffer the impact to the surtax, tiy to offset taxable in- come by bolstering such itemized deductions as ch a ritable contributions or miscellaneous business expenses. CPAs also suggest that you shelter interest income by transferring savings into e investments such as municipal bonds issued in your state. Contribute to a 401 (k). In 1989, you can contribute up to $7,627 to a 401(k) plan. Whatever amount you deposit automatically reduces your gross income. Whats more, by lowering your grass income, a 401(k) may also enable you to deduct a larger portion of your medical and miscellaneous ox lenses. Ifyour em pioyer doesnt offer a 40100, find out if you can still deduct your contributions to tax-fre- 10, Make Interest Leas Taxing. Another way to earn tax deferred or even tax free interest is by choosing the right type of investment For example, if you buy tax exempt municipal bonds issued in your state, the interest will be free from federal, state and local income taxes. Other tax advantaged investments include U.S. EE Savings Bonds and treasuries. Shift Income and Save. Save taxes and build college funds for your children by transferring assets into their names. Any interest and dividends earned by a child age 14 or older are taxed at the childs rate, currently 15. For children under age 14, the first $500 of unearned income is tax free and the next $500 ia taxed at their lower rate. However, any unearned income in excess of $1,000 is taxed at the parents highest marginal rate. Put Your Children to Work. Support your family and trim your tax bill by hiring your children as employees in a business you own. Any income your children earn will he taxed at their lower rate, and you can also deduct the salary you pay them. Just be sure your children actually perform necessary services and that toe salaries they receive are comparable to what you pay other employees. You must also pay any applicable employment taxes, including social security taxes, for any child overage 18. Reduce Consumer This year you can deduct only 20 of the interest charged on per- - an individual retirement account (IRA). Interest on both types of accounts grows tax deferred. Poisonings generally are asso- g household cleaners. h of the calls Yet, nearly answered by the Intermountain Regional Poison Control Center at University Hospital involve adults, often the elderly. According to Joseph Veltri, Pharm.D, director of toe center, older adults often call with questions regarding double dosages. taste-testin- one-fift- Taking three or four medications each day is not uncommon among older adults and sometimes its easy to mix up the pills or confuse the times. The biggest problem is older adults forgetting what medications theyve taken, Dr. Veltri says. When people cant remember whether theyve already taken medications, usually theyll repeat the dosage. One way to solve the double dosage problems, Dr. Veltri says, is by coordinating your medications with your physician and pharmacist. Often, different medications can be taken at the same time and that reduces the possibility of confusion. Also, it is important for toe elderly to tell their physicians what medications they are taking; particularly if they have more than one doctor. Another potential hazard for the elderly is not reading labels carefully. Dr. Veltri says people often grab a bottle of medication out of the cupboard without stopping to read the label before tak- ing it Keeping medications and other toxic substances in their proper containers is extremely tant The cleanser Tine Sol, left in a drinking glass, has, on many occasions, been mistaken for a glass of apple juice. Bleach, in unmarked containers, has been, confused for water, Dr. Veltri says. Dr. Veltri says older adults should be conscious of where medications and chemicals are stored in their homes, many poisonings occur at grandparents homes, where potentially dangerous household substances are not stored out of small childrens reach. The Intermountain Regional. Poison Control Center is a agency located in space donated by University of Utah state-fund- NEW NAME My name has changed, but I still offer the good neighbor service for your car, home, life & health insurance needs. See: Sherry McDonald 721 E. 200 N. 722-241- aiHis rasa 5 Like a good neighbor, State Farm there. is that interest on investment loans is fully deductible up to the amount of your net investment income. In 1989, you can also deduct up to or $2,000 of the interest in excess of your net investment income. Alternately, you can uae the proceeds of a home equity loan to pay off your personal debt. Remember, you can still deduct interest on home equity loans of up to $100,000. Make Your Age Work For You. Your age may be the key to unlocking toe profits in your home. If you are at least age 55 and meet certain ownership and use requirements, you can exclude from taxable income up to $125,000 of the profit realized from selling your principal home. BABY WINNERS-- In the 6 age division of the Duchesne County Fair Baby Contest, the winners were, Mckayla Streble. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Streble, and Cach Gines, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Gines. 0-- 20, t. I 4 Just For Using Your Phillips 66 I Conoco Chevron Texaco Or Bankcard Here were, winners of the fairs baby Mrs. Mr. of and Tracing Casper, daughter Mr. son of and Leon Casper, and Ryan Cowan, Mrs. Kelly Cowan. --of-gain out whether your prospective spouse has done so. Otherwise, WINNERS-T- he ONE-YEAR-OL- D one-year-o- ld winners were Shelly Thaync, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Thaync, and Colton Rowley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Rowley. yon may end up carelessly forfeiting this valuable tax break. Donate to Charity. If you charitable contributions remain deductible. And theres a bonus if you donate appreciated property. You can deduct the full value of the asset and avoid paying tax on its appreciation at the itemize, four-ycar-o- ld hc winners were Katie Karrcn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Karrcn, and Jake Gines, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lavon Gines. same time. However, be warned that such gifts may make you vulnerable to the Alternative Minimum Tax. In addition to gifts of property, you can deduct expenses associated with volunteer activities, including transportation costs. ed Make sure you are withholding enough tax from your paychecks. This year, if you fail to set aside at least as much tax as you owed in 1988, or at least 90 of your 1989 tax liability, you will be hit with a 10 to 12 penalty on the underpayment. f your withholding is wayoffthemark, CPAs advise you to update your W-- 4 winners in the division were Lindsey Gines, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Le Vaughn Gines and Mathew Taylor, son of Sharon Taylor. two-year-o- ld winSEVEN TO ELEVEN MONTHS-T- he ners in this category were Sierra Pickup, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pickup, and Chase Crissman, son of Mrs. Stacy Crissman. right away. You can obtain a new form W--4 from your CPA, your companys payroll office, or the IRS. Each year, pharmacists and specialists answer upwards of 35,000 calls. Using computer databases, these poison experts are able to answer questions over the phone, often making treatment recommendations for patients who have been poisoned. The center saves families more than $300,000 annually by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits. The center is staffed 24 hours and can be reached at or e in Utah, Hospital. lull-tim- e 581-215- 1, toll-fre- Effective January 1, 1990, insurance companies writing credit life insurance policies will be doing so for a reduced rate as ordered by the Utah State Insurance Commissioner, Harold C. Yancey. The reduced rate form $.49 to per year, is the first rate reduction since 1983, and represents a 15 percent savings for consumers. As mentioned by Yancey in a public hearing held August 30, the Insurance Code has given me $.42, per $100 coverage return information is the IRS best kept secret Tax Over 100 million American taxpayers annually share billions of facts about their finances with the IRS with confidence that their information will only be used for tax purposes. And their confidence, the IRS says, ia well placed. Federal laws protect taxpayer information from unauthorized disclosure. Federal employees face a maximum fine of $5,000, five years in prison, and the cost of prosecution for the unauthorized disclosure of tax information. Also, not all IRS employees have access to taxpayer information, since this data is available only on a need to know basis. The release of tax information to agencies outside of the IRS is also rigidly controlled. Those having access to federal tax return information include the President, certain congressional committees, federal agencies, state taxing authorities, and those who requirement," reported Parkinson of the Insurance Department. "Conservatism has been built into the decision to reduce the rate. Under the new rates consumRose-Mar- have specific permission from the taxpayer to represent them. In recent years educational institutions have been allowed access to relevant tax information for the collection of defaulted student loans from the owning taxpayers tax refund. One possible inconvenience that taxpayers should be aware of occurs when a taxpayer phones an IRS office for assistance that concerns their past tax records. The IRS toe responsibility of setting rates in only two areas of insurance, workers compensation and credit insurance, these rates are set only after credible data regarding losses is received from all mqjor writers in the state. A public hearing was held to discuss toe proposed reduction. It was attended by representatives from several national insurance companies, local associations representing credit unions, banks, auto dealers and financial institutions and insurance agencies. The state insurance law requires a minimum loss ratio of 50 percent. It is anticipated that a decrease in the credit life rate will cause a gradual increase in the statewide loss ratio over the next several yaarq to more nearly conform to the minimum loss ratio assister has access, via com- puter, to those tax records, but the assister must first ask sufficient questions to make certain the caller ia the taxpayer, or someone who is authorized to receive the requested information. The security of individual tax information ia a cornerstone ofthe US tax system, the IRS said, and all possible steps are taken to protect it (Personal Card In Your Name Area residents with diabetes are urged to take advantage of the upcoming diabetes screening dink Saturday, Sept. 16. The clinic k free of charge and will screen for diabetes related complication s of the eyes, feet and hypertension. ' Four previous dinks have been held in the Basin over the past year. A total of 143 people have attended the clinics. Glaucoma, retinopathy and neuropathy have been detected at these clinks. Clients are then referred to their Only) Best Western Sinclair 1 East of Roosevelt Confidence Is driving with Sinclair p Enter our FilLE Drrwirtg, Win Model 1500--Offfer and Pepsi Cooler. 6 Smith & Wesson, 100 Gal. of Expires Oct. 31 , 1989 Gaso-lin- sonable when 50 percent of the premiums are returned back to the consumer in toe form of claim payments, said Parkinson. "We believe that the proposed rate reduction is a step toward this standard of reasonableness and is necessary at this time in order to protect the interests of the debtors and toe public in the state of Utah." Utah will now enjoy one of the lowest credit life insurance rates in the United States. own health care provider when any problem k detected. Those attending the clinic must already be a diabetic and at least 13 years old. Each participant will visit nine stations: registration, visual acuity, dilation (drops will be put in eyes to dilate them), blood pressure check, education, glaucoma check, retinal exam, foot exam, and exit inter view. No appointments are necessary for toe Sept 16 clinic. Uae the WIC entrance to toe health department at the southwest comer ofthe state and county building in Vernal. The screening will take 1 12 to two hours. Since dilation of the eyes causes sensitivity to sunlight, participants are urged to bring dark glasses. Also wear socks and shoes that can be easily LCL Oil Co 30-0- per year of coverage. The insurance commissioner's Order does not totally disallow insurers from increasing their rates above $.42. To do so requires that the insurer show that the higher rate will produce a minimum loss ratio of not less than 50 percent; the commissioner must approve any increase. It should also be noted that insurers may reduce their rates below the $.42 level as desired. The Utah Legislature hsi determined that toe benefit of a credit life insurance policy is rea- Diabetes screening clinic to be held by health department Sinclair Credit Card Same As Cash I ie ers will be saving $.07 per $100 Get A Free, No Charge Sinclair Credit Card Sinclair Will Bill You, And At The Same Time Process Your Application For A Sinclair Credit Card . FREE 32 dd contest Note that this exclusion provision is available only once jn a lifetime per person or couple. So, if you plan to marry and you have not yet claimed the exclusion, find State Farm Insurance Companies Home Offices: Bloomington, Illinois t three-year-- THREE-YEAR-OLDS-T- hc Check Your Withholding. Poison control center used for adults as well as kids ciated with toddlers rummaging through medicine cabinets or sonal loans, credit card accounts, or unpaid tax bills. In 1990, the deduction will drop to the following year it mil disappear completely. To eliminate your consumer debt, consider liquidating some of your investments. You can then borrow funds to finance other investments. Keep in mind e, GYMNASTICS Power tumbling classes offered in Roosevelt on 'ski floor and spring floor. See us at the Bradshaw Building in Roosevelt or 6 Call 646-32- 2 removed. Those who are unable to attend the clinic in Vernal Sept 16 will have one more chance to receive this free service this year. Aclinic will be held October 14 at the Uintah Basin District Health Department in Rooaevelt, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For information about the diabetic complications screening dr clinks, call 781-0770- 9, |