Southtown Star from Tinley Park, Illinois • 31

i muni i ill i The Star usiness Thursday October 22, 1992 Minorities shop to be boss By William Ronald Instead of just shopping around for jobs, some American Indians and members of other racial minorities are setting up shop themselves as entrepreneurs, according to Peter Homer director of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Native American Af-, fairs. Homer was one of the speakers at Governors State University's Multicultural Entrepreneur Conference Friday at the Holiday Inn Chicago SouthHarvey. Some 95 participants from the South Suburbs, Chicago and Northwest Indiana attended the conference. The goal of the conference was to teach minority high school and college students about the rewards and challenges of entrepre-neurship.

Homer, a member of the Mojave Shasta tribe in Ari zona, said American Indians on reservations and in urban areas like Chicago have little experience running their own business. He noted that although the Chicago area has some 60 American Indian-owned businesses, many reservations have only a few small stores. American Indians have the potential to be one of the richest groups in this country as they own perhaps 30 percent of the nation's natural resources, Homer said. Although there are opportunities for economic growth, American Indian reservations tend to have high unemployment and poverty rates. "It's like the development of a Third World nation," Homer said.

He contended, American Indians are learning to take charge of their own economic destiny. Some, he said, are forming partnerships with large corporations to do such things as assemble computer chips, while others have opened up gambling casinos. Homer cited the case of the Cherokee nation in Okla-homa which had only three small businesses 10 years ago. Now it has 23 businesses valued at $68 million Part of the secret of the success of the Cherokees and several other tribes is reinvestment in their own communities, according to Homer. He added, many other minority groups African-Americans and Hispanics -are beginning to use the same strategy to revitalize their economic base.

Other important strategies include networking and forming partnerships with large corpotations which can often provide vital training, Homer said. But Homer said discrimination is still a reality which must be overcome. He cited examples of signs which he saw while growing up which read "No Dogs and See MINORITIES, This section IRS cracking down on holdouts Star graphic by Lora Leo Gelles By Karen Caffarini If you have not filed an income tax return in the last year or more, chances are the Internal Revenue Service knows who you are and will be contacting you soon to collect money owed them. The IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue have launched a massive, combined effort to identify nonfilers and convince them to return to the system. While both agencies are offering assistance to the strayers who voluntarily come in, the IRS has reassigned 280 agents and IDOR 50 auditors in the Chicago area to contact nonfilers who don't come in on their own, according to George Jurovich, chief of the examination division in the Chicago District IRS office.

Jurovich said the IRS is aware of 3,500 persons in the South Suburbs alone who have not filed income tax returns in the last year or more and 40,000 nonfilers in the Chicago area. The IRS estimates about six million Americans have stopped filing tax returns altogether, resulting in a total $82.6 billion owed but not voluntarily paid for individual federal income taxes in 1992. Jurovich said the agency has known about many of these nonfilers for years and has sent repeated notices about their failure to pay taxes due. However, he added, the department previously did not have the resources or manpower to pursue the delinquents with follow-up calls and visits. "The IRS became concerned about the rate at which the nonfiler population was growing and the amount of revenue it was losing," Jurovich said of the decision to actively pursue the nonfilers.

Time change lights up revenues By Lindsay Gladstone The temDerature is falling thp wind hinws nM He said it is estimated 280 agents in the Chicago district alone bring in $1.5 billion in tax returns. But by being reassigned to locate nonfilers, the agents are expected to pull in J5.8 billion, netting a $4.3 billion gain in revenues, Jurovich claimed. Since beginning this program the first of October, he said, the Chicago office has received more than 200 calls and about 50 walk-ins, most of whom were nonfilers they were not aware of. The program will continue for two years. "One individual who came in was a nervous wreck He hadn't filed a return for eight years.

He was so frightened, he didn't even want to leave for lunch for fear he would be arrested," Jurovich noted. He said most nonfilers are wage jearners or self-employed persons who generally filed returns for a number of years, until a significant change caused them to stop. Some of the major reasons for falling behind are divorce, death in the family, an economic setback or a huge gain from the sale of property. Jurovich said few nonfilers are tax protestors. "Once they stop filing, they have a tremendous fear to file again.

They think we'll put them in jail," he related. While this is not an amnesty program, Jurovich noted persons who voluntarily come in will be treated better than those who have to be dragged in by agents. He also claimed only the hardcore persons who are deliberately trying to defraud the government are sent to jail for failing to pay taxes. But no matter if you pay voluntarily or by necessity, all nonfilers will pay and the tab will be much higher than their original tax would have been, according to Jurovich. He noted there are two penalties: One for failure to file which amounts to 5 percent per month up to a maximum of 25 percent of the tax owed; and a second for failure to nav ta YPfi that An nolo a nApAAnr Where.

NonfJers Liye Age Profile 20 15 the daylight hours are swallowed by long nights. There can be no doubt Winter is coming. We combat the annual renewal of chilly darkness with the only weapons we have: heaters, long johns and daylight-saving time. While the temperature of our homes and the clothes we wear are left to us. thp time nn nnr r-wto i cm I i I N8-25 yr I I 1 Undw 18 ym 40.3 I I I 20 jw.

I r-n Over TOyeari-k is 10 wwiw Ofc by the government. In an effort to get a few more minutes of daylight in the mornings, we all turn our ciocks oacK an nour on me last Sunday morning in October. This year we "fall back" at 2 a.m. Sunday. We gain an extra hour of sleen we do tint have tn oivo h-w JpOil )y until we "spring forward" next April when we set our -i i i twins an uuur aneaa.

The benefits of the fall time change are obvious. We. all the extra light. It feels less like we monlh up to a maximum of 25 percent the tax Owed. Source: IRS awuuiu aim oe oca wnen we nave sunlight in the mornings, is not so dreary setting off to work and 10,000 to 50,000 IV mitiwi jcuauica uuu nave accumulated at a rate of between 8 and 12 percent through the years.

See IRS, This section Suburb City Suburb City Suburb dry 50,000 to 250,000 250,000 to 1,000,000 over 1,000,000 Under 10,000 See TIME, This section Video chain zaps into market that customers can trade in old vid The stores carry some 1,700 items Three Unbeatable Reasons lb Buy Now At Peter Levin BMW By William Ronald An idea which began in Minneapolis four years ago has spread to the South Suburbs. Called Funcoland, the stores specialize in the sale of new and used video games. Despite its entertainment base, David Pomije, the founder and chief executive officer of Funco says his work is not all fun and games. Pomije opened the first Chicago-area location July 13 in Blooming-dale. The first two south suburban sites were opened several months later, Sept.

22 in Orland Park and Sept. 25 in Matteson. Other FuncoLands are planned for Evergreen Park, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, and Calumet City. All told, the company will have 20 stores open this year in the Chicago area and will open 10 to 20 more stores by the end of 1993, Pomije said. Pomije claimed FuncoLand is the fastest growing video game retailer in the country.

He said his video store is different from the competition in eos for discounts on used or new games. Additionally, customers can test a game at the store and receive a 90-day warranty on their games. The store chain's concept of trading in used games and testing new ones is similar to what is done in the automobile idustry, Pomije contends. "You wouldn't buy a new car without driving it around the block," he pointed out. "By allowing people to trade in their previously played games for other previously played games or new game releases, we allow these people to expand their discretionary dollars." The value of a trade-in is worth anywhere from 50 cents to $55, Pomije said.

The company changes the prices it offers for games like the stock market does for commod- ities twice a month. For example, a new game worth $39 can be played and returned in a few months for a $14 to $20 refund, Pomije said. 10 percent of which are game accessories including the latest releases from Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Sega, Genesis, Game Gear and Neo-Geo. The stores also carry collector's items, Pomije said. For example, a game called Arkanoid originally sold for $29 a few years ago but has become so rare, it is now worth $62.

FuncoLand now has 29 stores in the Chicago, Minneapolis and Dallas areas, and plans to have some 40 stores open in the Chicagoland area and 110 stores nationwide by the end of 1994, Pomije said. This is a far cry from his company's beginnings in 1988 out of his home. He began by selling video games to local video stores in March 1988. He later decided to start selling and buying old games by mail order. By March 1989, he made $35,000.

Sales from March 1989 through March 1990 were $375,000. See VIDEO, This section mm mm 11 mw KIT New '92 318i Convertible Sales tax and license only exclusions 1 1 Y-rrrr Try to HOURS: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. lw Mioto by Carol DerMtt from the competition In that its customers can both test the games before buying them and can trade In used videos for discounts on ones purchased at FuncoLand. Chris Dage, manager of the new FuncoLand video game store in Matteson, watches as University Park resident Jason Davis tries out one of the many new and used games the store sells.

FuncoLand differs 431 W. Lincoln Highway, Route 30 Chicago Heights, IL (708) 481-9400.