The Independent-News, Volume 102, Number 35, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 3 February 1977 — Page 8

FEBRUARY 3, 1977 - THE INDEPENDENT-NEWS

I.R.S. OUTLINES CHANGES IN NEW TAX LAW Individual taxpayers filing tax returns for 1976 will notice several changes in the law resulting from recent passage of the Tax Reform Act of 19'6. the Internal Revenue said. Before preparing their returns, the IRS cautioned, taxpavers should carefully read the instructions they received with their tax packages in order to be aware of changes in the law Preparers who fill out their returns should also make sure they provide an Employee Identification of Social Se <urit\ number on the return I he IRS also stressed that some new provisions in the law become effective on January I. 19". or later and. therefore, have no bearing on the filing of 19'6 returns One provision in the legislation affecting virtually everyone filing a |9'6 return, the IRS said, is the general tax credit This provides a tax credit of $35 for the taxpaver as well as for each person listed as a dependent. or 2 percent of the first S9.(XX) of taxable income, whichever is larger. For a family of four claiming the credit, according to the IRS. and earning in excess of $9,000 in taxable income, the 2 percent alternative. or SIBO. would exceed tour times $35 or $l4O. The familys general tax credit, therefore, would total SIBO. Larger families with six or more dependents should use the $35 per dependent computation. the IRS said. Another result of the new legislation for 19 7 6 returns, the IRS said, is that more individuals will be able to claim the earned income credit which is designed to benefit low-income working families. To qualify for the credit, of up to S4OO a year, a worker's total income for 19 7 6. including earned income, must be less than SB,OOO. In addition, individuals must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up either an owed on rented home for themselves and for their child who was under 19 years of age or who was a full-time student, or for their disabled child who is a dependent. Mamed taxpayers must file a joint return to claim the credit. Prior to the new legislation, for a family to qualify for the credit, the child had to be a dependent and there were no special provisions relating to disabled children. Here's how the earned income credit works: An eligible working family is allowed to subtract from taxes owed 10 percent of the first $4,000 of income earned. The credit is reduced proportionately by the amount of income earned. The i redit is reduced proportionately by the amount of adjusted gross income over S4.(MX) before disappearing when the family's income hits SB,OOO A taxpayer whose earned income credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed receives a check from the government, the IRS s.,id Another change for 19'6 returns, expected to benefit millions of taxpayers. is the* liberalization of child care benefits Gcncralh. taxpayers who incur expenses for the care of children or disabled dependents m order to work for a living can take a tax credit equal to 20 percent of their costs, up to a maximum credit of S4OO (or one dependent and VMM) for two or more Under the old rules, according to the IRS. the taxpayer was entitled to a deduction rather than a credit so that only taxpavers who itemized deductions could benefit. In addition. the deduction had only been allowed to taxpayers working fulltime Ihe credit has also been extended to divorced or separated parents who have custody of a child and to deserted spouses who supported a child for more than six months of 1976. I ax pa yers will find that the minimum standard deduction increased to $l. 7 00 for single persons and

$2,100 for couples filing jointly. The standard deduction is 16 percent of adjusted gross income with a ceiling of $2,400 for single persons and $2,800 for couples who file joint returns. For married persons filing separately, the new maximum is $1,400. up from $1,300 in 197 J, the IRS said. The retirement income credit has been liberalized in several ways and the name changed to the Tax ( redit for the Elderly. First, the credit has been extended to include earned income and is therefore available to individuals age 65 or over regardless of whether they have retirement or earned income. The reduction in the credit for onehalf of earnings between $1,200 and $1 .'OO and for all earnings over SI/OO has been eliminated as has requirement that the person must have annual earnings of S6OO for 10 years prior to claiming the credit. The maximum credit has been increased to 15 percent of $2,500 for single taxpayers age 65 or over and $3,750 for couple filing jointly if both are 65 or over. There are special rules for couples in which one spouse is 65 or over and the other under 65. The maximum credit base is reduced by one-half of adjusted gross income over $7,500 for single persons and SIO,OOO for married filing jointly. Also, there are special rules for persons receiving public retirement income even though they are under 65. Beginning with the 1976 returns, most employees will no longer be able to exclude from income money received when absent from work because of injury or illness (i.e.. a sick pay exclusion). Only retirees under age 65 who are permanently and totally disabled will be able to exclude up to $5,200 per year. However, the exclusion is reduced dollar for dollar of adjusted gross income, including disability income. over $15,000 The new law also places restrictions on taking deductions for the business use of a home, or on expenses incurred to rent out a vacation home. The tax tables have been replaced by one tax table which must be used by those taxpavers with taxable income not over $20,000 Taxpayers who plan ahead might wish to consider or check into new benefits which start with the 1977 tax year, such as an increase in the maximum deduction for moving expenses from $2,500 to $3,000. In addition, the distance requirement has been reduced from 50 to 35 miles. Taxpayers age 65 or over who sell their homes in 1977 will be able to exclude the entire gain from the sale when the adjusted sale price is up to $35,000. Beginning in 1977. alimony payments will be claimed as a deduction in arriving at adjusted gruss income, similar to moving expenses. This means that taxpayers who lake the standard deduction will be able to claim alimony expenses, but they must file a long Form 1040 to do so. Beginning in 1977. eligible taxpayers will be able to make contributions to an individual retirement arrangement for their unemployed spouses, the IRS said. Other provisions effective for 1977 cover the treatment of capital gains, gambling withholding and estate and gift tax rates. Ihe IRS cautioned taxpayers to read the tax return instruction carefully because of the new legislation It suggested that taxpayers take advantage of the order blank in the back of the tax packages to obtain new revised IRS publications on a variety of tax subjects. They are available at no cost. PART OE OUR CHARACTER After 200 years of development. America stands as the democratic giant of the world —a positive force amid turmoil and uncertainty. There arc many things that have contributed to the strength and vi-

tality that is America. Our many individual freedoms, the immigrant experience, the winning of the frontier, and more, have combined tn shape the character of our nation One aspect of that character is the willingness of our people to play a direct role in the financial affairs of our government. That willingness is manifested in the public's support of the United State Savings Bonds Program. Onethird of all American families own Bonds, to the tune of more than s7l billion. Some 9'/i million persons buy Bonds regularly through the Payroll Savings Plan. All are helping their country as they help themselves. And bonds do help those who buy them. Not only is their interest rate good, but a variety of tax advantages make the effective yield higher. Money put into Bonds is also completely safe, with both principal and interest guaranteed against loss by the government. At the same time, the government gets stable, non-inflationary financing of the public debt. This indirectly helps all Americans since it reduces the number of times the debt has to be refinanced, and therefore the amount of interest the government has to pay to maintain it. So Savings Bonds aid the government, the individuals who buy them, and every American. What better way is there to look forward to another 200 years of freedom than to purchase the one security that helps every American? U. S. Savings Bonds —a part of the American character. In 1976. our Bicentennial year, bond sales totaled some $7.5 billion. the most since 1945. HOOSIER HISTORY Tourists in southern Indiana may do a double-take when they see a couple of signs along a road between Nashville and Columbus. Stoney Lonesome may cause the travelers to smile. But Gnaw Bone probably leaves then scratching their heads. Indiana University Bicentennial researchers point out that there are several theories about how the tiny community got its name. One is that a man by the name of Hawkins built a store and sawmill there. A neighbor came by looking for him and was told Hawkins was sitting on a log above the saw mill gnawing a bone. Another account is about a drunk who lost his way and was found by a friend who said the drunk was sitting on a log gnawing his bones. A third theory is that Gnaw Bone was named by French settlers after the city of Narbonnc back in France. Before dawn on a November day in l^l Miami Indian Chief Little Turtle and his warriors swooped down on Gen. Arthur St. Clair's soldiers camping near Portland. The General escaped. Indiana University Bicentennial research ers recount, but half of his men were killed. One of the “Indian'' raiders was a white man named William Wells. When he was II years old. Wells had been captured by Little Turtle dunng a raid in Kentucky. He could read and write, and during his years with the Indians they taught him to hunt. Wells planned the strategy for the attack on Gen. St. Clair's camp. He told Little Turtle to have his warriors fire first at the officers and soldiers who manned the cannon. His strategy paid off. and St. Clair's men fled in panic. Indiana's first mental institution was called the “crazy asylum." In the 1830 * it was located in Indianapolis in an area just east of

the present Monument Circle, according to historical sources in the Indiana University Library. Mentally ill persons were confined to three second-hand log cabins that had been used earlier by settlers. In 1843, a Dr. John Evans, an authority on mental diseases, spoke to the Indiana legislature about the need for a better building. He felt that the senators and representatives should first gather information and then provide public funds for people who needed mental health care. The legislature passed a bill taxing Hoosiers one cent on each 100 dollars for that purpose. One hundred and sixty acres west of Indianapolis were bought and a new asylum, big enough for 200 patients, was ready for use in 1848. Americans who use trucks with four-wheel drive have a Hoosier to thank for it. Indiana University Bicentennial researchers remind us. The inventor, Gaude Hoad ley, was born at Gosport during the Civil War. His father was an English emigrant and a mill wright who had worked in the boat-build-ing yards at New Albany and operated a grist mill at Mount Tabor. Gaude was apprenticed to his father and learned mechanical engineering. It is not known when he became interested in automobiles and trucks, but his uncle had the first car in Stinesville eight miles away. Because of their two-wheel drive, the early trucks had a tendency to skid on curves. In 1910 Gaude Hoadley received his U.S. patent on the four-wheel drive—and marked another automotive milestone in our Hoosier Heritage. In 1809, William Henry Harrison and some Indian chiefs drew a couple of treaty lines across Indiana and stirred up the wrath of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh. According to historical sources in the Indiana University Library. Gen. Harrison met at Fort Wayne and purchased more than a million acres of land from the Indians. The tract was about 30 miles wide at its narrowest point. One tract of the boundary is known as the Ten O'clock Line, as east-west line angling north to about where the ten is on a clock. Surveyors placed the Ten O'clock Line near Wildcat Creek about a mile west of Seymour. It left the state in Vermillion County. The treaty angered Tecumseh because he thought all the Northwest Confederacy tribes should have been asked. He warned Hamson that whites should not cross the Ten O'clock Line, but the Battle of Tippecanoe ended Tecumseh's hopes of recovering the land. TIME TO READ ABOUT* ORDER GARDEN VARIETIES For thousands of Americans, a favorite winter pastime is reading or learning about varieties of vegetables. flowers, shrubs and plants new to them. This information usually comes to the individual through garden catalogs, the media or from attendance at a Cooperative Extension meeting or workshop, "For years these sources have stimulated an interest in gardening and provided the public with the latest information about new varieties and gardening techniques." says John A. Wott, Purdue University extension home environment horticulturist. Printed material, of course, finds its way into millions of homes and becomes a reference point for the gardener, Wott notes. And. what the gardener or homemaker reads, hears or sees pictured, he or she tends to want to try. From that point on it's a matter or ordering the seeds or plant* from a supplier or watching for the

desired item at the hometown garden center or nursery. Annually, new varieties draw considerable attention. But so do the old reliables and varieties that a person always meant to plant but never did. Wott has already reviewed the four 1977 bronze medal winners listed by All-Amcrica Flower Selections. These were Yellow Galore marigold, marigold Primrose Lady, Showgirl geranium and Blushing Maid petunia. Today, the horticulturist calls attention to Sunray, the only new gladiolus variety given the 197~ All-American Gladiolus Selections award. A pure, intense yellow , this new flower comes by its name honcstli Each floret seems to have been sprinkled with gold dust. Ruffled and beautifully recurved, the flor cts arc gracefully arrayed on tall, well-proportioned 22-bud spikes with 8-9 flowers open at one time A healthy and vigorour flower, Sunray's blooming date is 80 dais from planting to flowering. "This flower lends a splendor to ani garden and in a bouquet can pro vide a long-lasting loveliness," says Wott. If you're considering an all-glad iolus garden area, the horticulturist suggests including the four 1976 Bicentennial winners— America, a chalk white with blood red mark ings; Spectacular, a golden yellow surrounded by a rose-red corona; Lambkin, a classy ivory-white mini ature, and charming little Rudolph, a dashing bright red miniature All of these received All-America honors last year. Because the All America van eties have been especially tested for home gardens, they are virtual ly foolproof to grow. The bulbs (corms), reasonably priced, have a nearperfect success record after planting. The blooming season for gladiolus extends throughout the summer and well into autum. Tn some this year. MICROBES AND MEN The 19th century medical pion eers who "introduced" a revolution. turning medicine from a mystical mess to a rational craft" are the subject of "Microbes and Men." a six-part series beginning Monday night. February 21. at 10:00 on 34/Public Television. The words of tribute come from Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the first polio vaccine, who introduces each of the dramas. Spanning the 65 year* between 1846 and 1911. "Microbes and Men" dramatizes the vision and tenacity of the medical pioneers who battled ignorance and prejudice to bring medicine its greatest advancement in 1,000 years. The senes begins with Ignaz Semmelweiss* discovery of the contagious principle of disease. "Microbes And Men” then move through the discoveries of Louis Pasteur, Robert Kock’s premature announcement of a vaccine for tuberculosis. and the work of Paul Ehrlich and Almroth Wnght against typhoid and syphilis. Woven throughout the medical dramas are the lives, personalities, rivalries and the tragedies of the scientists. Pasteur, a victim of several strokes, helplessly watches three of hi* children die of diseases no one understands; Ehrlich is publicly ridiculed for his work on syphilis, deemed to be God's way of punishing sinners. Following each episode of "Microbes and Men" is a brief epilogue in which research scientists from the Salk Institute reveal the new frontiers in medical discovery, covering such topics as cancer, behavior, brain hormones and molecular biology. The first state to ratify the Constitutional amendment lowering voting age to 18 was Ohio, on June 30, 1971. Send that special, message with a "Happy Ad" — just $1.00!