The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 17

-9- r. f- i WEDNESDAY JUNE 28, 1995 The Palm Beach Post PAGE 5B. BUSINESS Codes for 24-hour financial updates PAGE 6B POSTLINES slsie Intangibly speaking, you might still owe tcixes Taxing Issue Unsure if your asset is subject to intangible tax? This might help. 401(K): Not taxable IRA: Not taxable T-BILLS: Not taxable If diversity is good for GM, isn't it good for America? What is good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa. Former GM President Charles Wilson in 1953.

If the recent Supreme Court decision that narrows the scope of affirmative action is good for America, you'd expect GM to be joining West Palm Beach and others in reconsidering its commitment to equal opportunity. But that's not happening. To the contrary, the nation's largest company is taking the position that merely keeping up with current attitudes and laws on thinking it's a low-tax retirement haven, but all of their assets that they have accumulated could be subject to an intangible tax," said Donna O'Neal, taxpayer education director with the Florida Department of Revenue. Some are exempt from the tax. A single individual is exempt for the first $20,000 of intangible assets.

Married couples are exempt for $40,000. Also, if an individual owes less than $5, they do not have to pay. Estates, trusts, partnerships and corporations must file the paperwork, even if no intangible tax is due. The amount a taxpayer owes is Please see TAXES 1 0B Tax forms on intangible assets must be postmarked by midnight Friday. By MATT McKINNEY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Florida may not have an income tax, but Floridians aren't completely off the hook.

The state's intangible tax is due Friday. The tax a levy on intangible property such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, loans, notes and other assets accounted for $687 million in revenue for the state in the 1993-94 fiscal year. "A lot of people retire to Florida MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS: Taxable, unless the municipal bonds are from Florida. In that case they are exempt. STOCKS, BONDS, MUTUAL FUNDS, MONEY MARKET FUNDS: All are subject to tax, but if the assets are organized in a business partnership, they may be exempt.

If organized as a corporation, the assets are taxable. CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: Not taxable. CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT: Not taxable INVESTMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES: Israeli bonds, for example, are taxable. TAX FORMS must be postmarked by midnight Friday. the subject is a fool's game that will be lost to those who "push the envelope" and promote ever broader concepts of diversity.

"I want our competitors to just deal with affirmative action," says GM Vice President William C. Brooks, "because we'll kill 'em." If Wilson's memorable logic holds true, the position Brooks articulates begs this question: If moving beyond affirmative action is good for -j ih I Robert Douglas business editor jjjV i I. LOREN G. HOSACKStaff Photographer Bill Peterson (left) and Alex Dreyfoos talk about putting WPEC-12 up for sale. Dreyfoos is chairman and Peterson is president of Photo Electronics, which owns WPEC.

Dreyfoos hopes WPEC-12 will be the one investors want to turn to Toyota leasing arm settles suit with coupons By BETH REINHARD Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Settling one of the largest class-action lawsuits against Toyota's leasing company, World Omni Financial Corp. is offering coupons worth between $40 and $150 to about 95,000 consumers in Florida and four other Southern states. The settlement, which the Florida attorney gen: eral protested last year, sharply contrasts with a more generous recent agreement by related Toyota companies to provide up to $4.5 million in refunds. World Omni is the leasing arm of Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc. of Deerfield Beach, the sol6 distributor of Toyotas in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The company's settlement offer stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in Mobile, that said the company was overcharging consumers who returned cars before the leases ended. The charges ranged from $4,000 to $10,000, which in some cases was greater than the total cost of the car, said John Sharbrough, one of the attorneys who represented the Alabama plaintiffs. A federal judge, however, threw out the claim that the fee was unlawful. As far as the remaining claim that the fee was not properly disclosed, damages are limited to $500,000 for class-action lawsuits, Sharbrough said. Coupons good toward next lease Among the terms of the settlement: World Omni will change the accounting method used to determine the "early termination charge," so it will be lower, said Sharbrough's partner, attorney Sarah Stewart.

Consumers who participate in the class-action lawsuit will receive coupons of either $40, $75 or $150 toward their next lease. They are not allowed sue World Omni Financial Corp. over any leasing' contract dispute. World Omni will pay plaintiffs attorney fees of $325,000. "We feel this settlement provides as much relief if not more than what other companies have said Logan Pierson, a Toyota spokesman.

"A lot of the consumers don't even feel they were Florida consumers who leased between between Nov. 5, 1986, and Nov. 5, 1991 are eligible. Linda Nadeau of Royal Palm Beach, who had trouble getting out of a five-year lease unless she went into another lease or a more expensive purchase, doesn't want any part of the settlement. "I thought it was a big joke," Nadeau said.

"Why' would I want a coupon? I never want to lease The state attorney general's office tried to stop the settlement last year, fearing that it would prevent Florida consumers from getting refunds in a separate case. In that case, Toyota dealers and companies agreed to pay thousands of consumers up to $4.5 million to settle allegations of deceptive car leasing. 1 Assistant Attorney General Jack Norris said his office never negotiates deals involving coupons. mm GM, shouldn the rest of us start embracing diversity? Or at least consider GM's case for bucking the trend against integration that the Supreme Court has made politically correct? 'The case is made emphatically by Brooks, a former assistant labor secretary who now oversees GM programs to embrace diversity as a resource to be developed, not an obstacle to be overcome. You've got to look at affirmative action in the context of an economy that is becoming more global and a nation that is becoming more demographically complex, he says.

And you've got to stop approaching it as a social and moral issue. "Diversity is a business issue." And managing it correctly "gives you a competitive advantage." Brooks outlined GM's philosophy on the economic correctness of managing diversity this week in Orlando, during an interview and in a speech to the annual conference of the Society for Human Resource Management. Affirmative action aims to build a work force that looks diverse. But looks aren't enough at GM, which Brooks says is committed to a "process of creating and maintaining an environment that naturally enables" employees, suppliers and the communities where it does business "to fully contribute" to a shared pursuit of prosperity. And that process goes beyond race and gender to embrace differences in ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, military experience, union status and thinking styles, Brooks says.

Valuing everyone's point of view and providing a Chance to express it, helps make employees more productive and GM more sensitive to its markets. GM has a long way to go Having set out toward the goal of inclusion doesn't mean GM has reached it, of course. Fifty-five percent of GM's utility vehicles are bought by women, for example. Yet the "macho male work force" has been slow to understand that "instrument panels have to be user friendly to long fingernails," says Brooks, who maintains that having women involved in every phase of the operation wpuld help promote such understanding. 't In the same way, having greater diversity at the top might help GM reach its goal of becoming the world leader in transportation products and services, too.

GM's board of directors is all-American. And its international strategy board has no representation from Asia or South America. As part of its commitment, GM is moving to deal with such shortcomings, Brooks says. And in doing so, it sets a good example for others who have yet to confront demographic reality on a global or neighborhood scale including those who may look to the Supreme Court to justify backsliding on the road to equal opportunity. If doing the right thing is good for GM, how can wrong for anyone? While Dreyfoos started inquiring about other stations, the offers for WPEC became more frequent and the suitors more prominent, though neither he nor President and General Manager Bill Peterson would name names.

"It looks like our conclusion was right we should be part of a group," said Dreyfoos, chairman of West Palm Beach-based Photo Electronics, which owns WPEC. Dreyfoos said longtime NBC affiliate WPTV- Channel 5, owned by By MITCH McKENNEY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH For 22 years, Alex Dreyfoos wasn't interested in offers from those who wished to own his TV station, WPEC-Channel 12. Now he's willing to listen. Dreyfoos said Tuesday that a flood of "unsolicited offers" for the CBS affiliate in the past six months has prompted him to change his stance. His company, Photo Electronics has retained New York investment banking firm Lazard Freres Co.

to field offers. An agreement, if any, could be ready by late August or early Paxson Communications bought WPBF-25 in January 1994 for $32 million. WPEC-12 could bring more than triple that figure. Scnpps Howard, "has been a wonderful competitor, but they've had some clear advantages from being a group station." "I think that's a very fair statement, not only when you look at the current the future," WPTV conditions but also into General Manager Bill Brooks said. September, Dreyfoos said.

Federal Communications Commission reviews would delay the transfer to a new owner to early 1996. Analysts say the station could fetch more than $100 million. By putting WPEC in play, Dreyfoos figures to attract suitors of all sizes from small groups of affiliates to networks such as CBS and Fox. He said he considered forming a group of stations at the end of last year to enhance the station's position under changing FCC guidelines. Dreyfoos bought what was then WEAT-TV from John D.

MacArthur in 1973 and changed the call letters to WPEC to match the initials of the photographic technology company he founded with the late George Mergens. The station was an ABC affiliate in what was Please see WPEC10B In Brief PALM BEACH POST STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS 7.60 1 1 1 1 1 1 7.40 7.20 7.oo VT 6.80 6.60 (VV 6.40 I i I I I I I 3-29 4-12 4-26 5-10 5-24 6-7 6-21 Trading Ylds: 30-Year: 6.54 1-Year: 5.64 6-Month: 5.60 3-Month: 5.57 Auction Dates Not scheduled July 20 Monday Monday Lawsuit legislation delayed WASHINGTON Democrats forced the Senate to delay action Tuesday on legislation aimed at protecting companies and their accountants from meritless securities fraud lawsuits. As senators debated into the evening, they agreed to schedule a final vote today. Passage was expected. Opponents argued the bill would deter legitimate stockholder claims in addition to frivolous suits.

Before it could go to President Clinton, whose aides have hinted at a veto, the bill would have to be reconciled with a similar measure that passed the House in March as part of the Republican Contract With America. The bills are part of a larger effort by Republicans to curb what they say is an explosion of civil liability suits choking the courts and diverting the nation's businesses from more productive pursuits. Boca firm buying plasma centers BOCA RATON North American Biologicals Inc. Tuesday said it has agreed to buy nine plasma collection centers from Blood Systems Inc. of Arizona.

The purchase of the centers, which are primarily in Arizona, Colorado and Texas, are expected to add $15 million in annual revenues. North American Biologicals is the world's largest independent provider of human blood plasma elements to the health care industry. It has 76 collection centers in 30 states and two in Germany. Viacom to pay out $83 million NEW YORK Tired of dealing with arbitragers, Viacom Inc. said Tuesday that it would pay investors a total of $83 million for securities issued to shareholders of Paramount Communications when Viacom acquired it last year.

The securities, called contingent value rights, or CVRs, will be purchased for $1.44 a right on July 7, although the price could fluctuate slightly based on the performance of Viacom's class shares. About 57 million CVRs are outstanding. Arbitragers have been trading Viacom's stock and the CVRs in complex strategies, helping to put downward pressure on the value of Viacom's class shares, the most widely traded Viacom stock. The'announcement came after the market closed Tuesday. Viacom class shares closed up $1.75, at $43,625, on extremely heavy volume of almost 8.4 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ex-Gulfstream president charged WEST PALM BEACH Ronald Potts, the former president of Gulfstream Financial Associates Inc. in Boca Raton, has been charged in federal court with defrauding six Boca Raton banks of about $500,000 between 1987 and 1990. Potts, 47, who was arrested in Pittsburgh, lied on personal financial statements that he used to obtain and renew loans from the banks, according to an indictment unsealed last week. Potts, who has been living in Ontario, is free on bond while he waits for trial. Consumer faith in economy falls NEW YORK Consumer faith in the economy plunged in June, suffering the biggest monthly fall in three years, a widely followed survey released Tuesday found.

Although remaining relatively high, the Conference Board confidence index showed a third straight decline, reflecting a general view that the economy has weakened. Still, economists, some of whom found the extent of the drop in confidence somewhat surprising, predicted the Federal Reserve wouldn't lower interest rates anytime soon even though financial markets anticipate such a move. Stock prices rose after the report's release. Bond prices initially jumped higher, then fell back by late Tuesday. "There's no doubt that the economy has slowed down.

(But) we think the underlying fundamentals support continuing growth," said Daniel Seto, a vice president and economist for Nikko Securities Co. International. He suggested the economy was in a transition. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which was calculated from a nationwide survey of 5,000 households, plunged 9.2 points this month to 92.8, the biggest monthly decline since a 10.4-point drop in June 1992. The index stood at 101.4 at the start of the year and at 92.5 in June 1994.

Pepsi down $1.25 to $45.63: Goldman Sachs removed the company from a top investment list. Meanwhile, a Teamsters strike against Pepsi appeared to widen. Club Med, up $2.75 at $31.88: The company said a board committee recommended that shareholders accept Club Mediterranee S.A.'s new cash offer of $32 per share. The suitor currently holds 70.8 percent of Club Med's shares. Mobil up $1.38 to $97.50: The company said in a press release that it wants to increase its earnings by $1 billion by 1998 to achieve a 12 percent return on capital.

The oil company said it expects much of the improvement to come from the realignment of its worldwide staff support services and further restructuring of U.S. and European marketing and refining operations. 4-.