Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 10

3 MAEEE1IPMCIE Questions or suggestions? Call business reporter James E. Larcombe at 791-1463, or 1-800-438-6600. (D (3 Self-employed may lose health tax break MCWest "It's a crime. Not only is there no health care reform, but we lost even the very meager incentive that small, self-employed people had to purchase health insurance." John Motley, vice president for government affairs, National Federation of Independent Business WASHINGTON (AP) Several million self-employed Americans may be in for a rude surprise when they file their taxes next year. They will no longer be able to deduct a penny of the money they pay for health insurance.

..6 The 25 percent tax deduction for the self-employed expired at the end of 1993. Lawmakers in both parties had expected to re D1V SALES LAST CHG 1074 15 -14 1.20 1909 4914 44 157 8 14 1039 3258 -58 1321 2516 18 .83 2444 3178 14 53 1378 38 .38 0 834 1.16 2677 36 34 18 3 4311 8218 -1 38 1.36 1744 4858 14 1.88 3101 54 -18 .48 17 1734 .64 93 2338 -18 .05 241 5 14 18 1.60 118 2618 18 1.60 269 2212 14 3315 2558 14 1.08' 2172 1658 -18 .10 2338 1714. -18 .70 189 1018 -18 1.72 1 528 2234 M8 861 4 -18 .94 6826 2558 14 2.14 2305 3878 38 .74 6 19 -34 111 638 18 .17 18744 2358 .10 433 1334 -38 Quotes are from Monday. Buttrey CUCtntl Canyon Res ConAgra trap Growers Enemy West first Bank irst Interstate Gannett General Mills Glacier Bank Inter Fin Group aster U-D Utilities Sontana Power orwest Pacificorp Pegasus Gold Piper Jatfray Plum Creek Pbi Supervalu (J West United Savings Video Lottery Wal-Mart store it and provide an even more generous break this year as part of health reform. they don't reinstate this provision," said Anderson.

Several lawmakers, including Reps. Fred Grandy, R-Iowa, and Jan Meyers, are pushing bills to revive the 25 percent tax deduction. The tax break for the self-employed has expired in the past. It took Congress until August 1993 to restore it after it expired at the end of 1992. Rep.

Sam Gibbons, the House Ways and Means chairman, wants to restore the 25 percent deduction, but the timing is up in the air, said a spokeswoman, Ellen Dad-isman. If Congress waited past April 15, 1995, to restore the deduction, it would create headaches for the self-employed because they would have to amend their tax returns, she noted. The National Federation of Independent Business was widely credited with helping topple President Clinton's health reform plan and its mandate on businesses to buy insurance for every employee. In pulling down health reform, the small-business lobby also undercut its bid for a 100 percent tax deduction. The 25 percent tax deduction, which applied to insurance bought by the self-employed for themselves, spouses and dependents, cost the Treasury about $500 million a year.

Expanding it to 100 percent would cost $2.5 billion a year. More than 12 million Americans are self-employed for part or all of their livelihood, and almost 3 million have no health insurance, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. A study conducted last year by the National Association for the Self-Employed predicted that 400,000 more self-employed would go without insurance if they lost the 25 percent tax deduction. "This is health care in reverse if "It's a crime," said John Motley, vice president for government affairs of the National Federation of Independent Business. "Not only is there no health care reform, but we lost even the very meager incentive that small, self-employed people had to purchase health insurance." Corporations can deduct 100 percent of the costs of providing insurance for their employees.

Many health reform bills including President Clinton's and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole's proposed giving the self-employed a 100 percent tax deduction. It was trimmed to 80 percent in a House Democratic leaders' plan and 50 percent in Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's proposal. 163 1 til But the tax de duction for the HCfOriTI self-employed has been buried for now in the wreckage of the health reform bills. "It's kind of a shock," said Rebecca Anderson, a legislative analyst for the National Association for the Self-Employed. "It was being held hostage to the health care debate.

Now we're down to the wire and everyone is saying it's not going to IRS planning simplified new tax form WASHINGTON (AP) The IRS is developing a new, easier-to-fill-out tax form that rest-dents of four states will see in 1996 and the rest of the country In 1997. Right now it's called 1040T, for test. It features bigger type, more space between the lines and a box for every numeral. It will replace the 1040A form, for individual taxpayers who don't itemize deductions. But many taxpayers who now use the long form, 1040, will be able to use the 1040T, the Inter-nal Revenue Service said Friday.

The four-page form (two double-sided sheets) has space for the most popular itemized deductions, including state taxes, mortgage interest, charitable donations and medical expenses. It also has space for three other functions that now require a separate attac hmenf claiming the credit for child and dependent care, filing for the earned income credit for low-income people and listing dividend and interest Income, "We believe the form is a much-improved design over the current 1040 and it will enhance the ability of taxpayers to complete the form cor- rectly," said Sheldon D. Schwa-; rtz, IRS director of tax forms and publications. The new form also should cut down on IRS errors. It will be readable by machines; eliminating the need to keypunch the information into the IRS computers.

The 1040T will be tested in 1996 in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. And then, if all goes well, it will be used nationwide in 1997. Last yean the IRS received 60 million 1 040 forms on paper and 19 million 1040 As. After the switch, the IRS anticipates 45 percent of taxpayers will use the 1040T. B( SE i Homes sales dip nationwide in August CD si In Great Falls, the number of homes sold in August dropped from the same month a year earlier.

According to figures kept by the Great Falls Association of Realtors, the sales of 77 residences closed last month. In August of 1 993, there were 1 29 home sales that closed. predicted last week that rates will reach 9 percent by the end of the year, from less than 7 percent nearly a year ago. An increase from 7 percent to 9 percent would add $209 to the monthly payment on a $150,000 mortgage. The median price of an existing home in August was $112,500, up 3.4 percent from $108,800 during the same period a year earlier.

The median is the midpoint, meaning half of the homes cost more and half cost less. Regionally, sales rose 2.4 percent in the West, to an 870,000 annual rate. The median price there was $149,700. But they fell elsewhere, including a 4.8 percent drop in the Midwest, to a 1 million rate. The median price in the Midwest was $88,700.

Sales fell 3.2 percent, to 600,000, in the Northeast, where the median price was $145,000. President Robert H. Elrod. "Based on our forecasts, we are right on track toward finishing out the year with the second best on record." "Good affordability conditions and an array of financing tools available to consumers in the market continue to encourage both first-time and move-up buyers to purchase," he asserted. Although mortgage rates are nearly 2 percentage points above their 25-year low set last October, they remain below the double-digit figures that existed during much of the 1980s.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said 30-year, fixed-rate mort-. gages averaged 8.51 percent in August, down from 8.62 percent a month earlier. Rates have been fluctuating, however, and reached 8.73 percent during the week ended last Thursday. David Lereah, an economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association, WASHINGTON (AP) Sales of existing homes fell 1.8 percent in August, a real estate trade group said Monday, as higher mortgage rates continued to take their toll on consumer demand.

The West posted the only regional gain. The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned single-family homes totaled 3.9 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down from 3.97 million a month earlier. Existing home sales have slipped in three of the last four months and in July posted only a revised 0.3 percent gain. The Realtors originally estimated sales in July had fallen 0.3 percent. Most analysts attribute the slowdown in the', housing industry to higher mortgage rates.

The government reported last week that housing starts rose 2.1 percent in August, but the entire advance was in multifamily construction. Single- family starts 80 percent of residential construction dropped 2.7 percent. Still, the Realtors noted that existing home sales were 1 percent above those of August 1993 and continued to predict the second-best year ever 3.95 million units compared with the record 3.98 million in 1978. "Actual sales remain strong," said Northwest lumber prices stabilize; rate of mill closures slows down ASK A PROFESSIONAL PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Northwest lumber prices were stable at summer's end despite predictions of big increases, surprising traders and pleasing homebuilders.

Meanwhile, the rate of mill closures slowed to ease wildlife and the environment. Reacting to a threat of major shortages, traders bid the price of lumber up to $510 per thousand board feet in late December and predicted 1994 would bring further increases. Water Treatment mm Q. How to remove iron or manganese stains from fabrics. A.

As little 0-3 ppm of Iron or manganese ou stain fabric. Neither aoapa nor synthetie detergents can prevent such tains, and blMohn will not remove them once they ooour. In fact, bleaches and alkaline builders Increase the possibilities of staining. A water softener will remove soluble iron and manganese along with hardness by the ion exchange process. If iron (or manganese) Is present In larger amounts, an Iron removal Carliner said he doubts there will be any price hike before year's end after several factors came together this summer to prevent a job crunch.

Lumber prices ended up about the same as last September, at roughly $350 per thousand board feet, according to the lumber com face of interest rate increases, Canada beefed up lumber exports and private timber sales filled sawmills with logs. However, the author of a semiannual mill closure report predicted more shutdowns. "It's temporarily stabilized, but it's going to get worse," said Paul Ehinger, a Eugene consultant and former mill manager whose report is the only one of its kind in the industry. Ehinger's last report in December painted a gloomier picture for 1994. While he expected a larger number of closures, he said the accelerated harvest of logs from private lands this year was unexpected.

In 1990, 54 mills closed in a five-state region under the weight of recession and the early stages of the logging cutback on federal lands. Leslie Maisam filter or an automatic feeder-filter system Is necessary for the removal of these contaminants. Ordinary methods do not suffice In removing iron or manganese stains from fabrics. You sen remove these stains by dipping mbrtos In a solution of oxalio add. For more Information about the benefits fioftnW Wa tot Last Saturday, the IWA-Canada union and coastal British Columbia sawmills reached a tentative labor agreement, relieving market pressure over a feared strike.

British Columbia provides almost 18 percent of the lumber sold in U.S. markets. Meanwhile, the housing market slowed down in midsummer in the AJjIA(XM. CallYour CuLUgUn Man todayl Truet The ExpwtaTv 2400Rlver Dr. North 761-5050 Sunbrook sells radio stations HELENA Sunbrook Communications, which owns 10 radio stations in Montana and two in Wenatchee, has been bought by Fisher Broadcasting of Seattle.

Sunbrook President Larry Roberts said from his office in Spokane Monday that Sunbrook will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisher, but will operate as a separate unit. "I will continue to be president and chief executive officer, and our management team will all stay in place at each of the radio stations," Roberts said. Montana stations are KAAR, KQUY and KXTL in Butte; KRKX, KYYA and KBLG in Billings; KDXT and KGRZ in Missoula; and KAAK and KXGF in Great Falls. The Wenatchee stations are KYSN and KXA. Roberts founded Sunbrook Communications in 1980.

Fisher Broadcasting owns KOMO radio and TV and radio stations KV1 and STAR, all in Seattle, and KATU-TV in Portland, Ore. Top U.S. economists see slower growth WASHINGTON Many top economists see the U.S. economy slowing and prices rising, but not fast enough to result in either a recession or runaway inflation. The National Association of Business Economists said Monday the consensus of 43 professional forecasters calls for economic growth of 2.6 percent in 1995, down from an estimated 3.6 percent this year.

The forecasters predicted inflation would rise just 2.7 percent this year and 3.3 percent in 1995. Missile maker to build rail cars BOSTON As a defense contractor, Raytheon Co. specialized in steering missiles to targets. Now, the company wants to deliver a different kind of payload: commuters, shoppers and vacationers on rail cars. The company said Monday it had selected a site for a rail car manufacturing plant in Fall River, and would seek contracts to supply trolley cars for Boston and high-speed trains for Am-trak's Northeast corridor.

Owner of exteriors business to retire Bob Kramer, owner of North Country Exteriors at 1 1 Division Road in Great Falls, is retiring because of ill health. The firm does exterior home improvements including siding, doors, windows and rain gutters. Customers needing service are being referred to Marty Stenberg of AluminumSteel Products Inc. at 2218 9th Ave. N.

The phone number is 771-1022. Big Sky Toys moves to Central Avenue Big Sky Toys and Hobbies has moved to 200 Central Ave. in the Murphy-Maclay building. The shop was formerly located at 12 3rd St. N.W.

Hours are noon to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Tribune staff and wire reports kicking day Peanuts Salsa Hot Sauce Chili Fixings Computers Software E'OLA LOSE WEIGHT FEEL GREAT nvi? eTHD vrnrr posite published by Random Lengths, the Eugene-based industry newsletter. Eighteen sawmills shut down through August in California, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The combined closures cut 1,598 jobs from the Western economy. But the remaining mills were flush with timber as private landowners took advantage of healthy log prices, the report said.

The National Association of Homebuilders and others had warned of skyrocketing prices due to federal logging restrictions. "We wanted to raise an alarm, maybe we overdid it," said Michael S. Carliner, a vice president of the trade group. Timber harvests from federal lands in the Pacific Northwest have dropped to less than 25 percent of their average in the 1980s after federal courts began in 1990 to drastically reduce logging to protect btBRENDA DOCKTER 11 1 Division Road (Great Falls) (DliWU l-OUU-raB-tULA Independent Distributor la it practical to upgrade my computer's Memory, Hard Drive, Video, Processor, I hear this question every day. I'm going to break my answer into several parts.

We usually get Into this fix when we find that something we want to do requires more power or more advanced components than our computer contains. For instanos, a new piece of software is running slowly; and we think that more RAM would help. Unfortunately, upgrading one oomponent will only point out some other bottleneok. Upgrading a computer with an 80286 CPU to an WESTGATE MALL 452-3553 Mlkt Workman TEDDY lemw 1 80388 or 80488 by ohanging the motherboard is only the beginning. Usually, the hard drive and video adapter are also outdated.

If RAM from the old motherboard cannot be used on new motherboards, we need all new memory. Quite possibly, the only things used from the old machine will be the oase and the floppy drive. Ultimately, the 8150 motherboard change really costs $1800. I DDQ Ribs Complete Dinner Village 111 866-3241 (local) SOFTWARE PLUS, INC. 3rd Street North Great Falls, MT 59401 (406) 761-0083 1-800-735-7083 FAX: 1-406-761-0084 ALL SEASONS SPAS STOVES.INC.

B3 452-6170 GZ Lawn, Garden Pet Care I W.w.H.i.reBi.i iLf60NCRETEA DI-MjX Gt: When and how do I plant flower bulbs? A i W. -l alt 11 a I 9 Serving Grert Falls Surrounding Aria (Within 60 mi, radius) me garaen enovua tie prep area witn some type or organic material (oomDost. ground bark or neat moral. Nearlv all II uuiue preier toose ground sou to proviae rootgrowtn ana proper drainage. Spread the organio material 1 to 4 inches I deep, then work into existing sou.

Bulbs should be fertilized at Duane Anderson j- can Let us tell you more planting tune, roliow the directions on the package. Fertilizer aoout our contract services noma also oe applied in the spring when foliage appears. Planting depth is important, be sure to check the laoeiof the bulb oontalner. Place fertilizer just a bit deeper than the depth the bulb will be planted, cover with a layer of soil, set the bulb in and cover with soil and firm with hands. Water thoroughly after planting.

If the weather becomes dry in the winter be sure to water, dorTt let 1 WMi pWfigjBWr 1 the sou dry out. When the plants become a few "1 inches tall, begin watering' to keep evenly moist. 523 9th St S.727-7572 The Specialist For more information call: 761-3680 Open 8 Days A Week (tuidiy ky AppilatMt) Frank Pearson or Bill Bonahoom 452-97CG EASTER SEALSGOODWILL 4400 Central Avenue Questions should be addressed and sent directly to the above mentioned professionals. Be sure to Include your name, address and phone number. "Believe In the Power of Work" Commerlcal Contract Division.

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