The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • 26

I-1 JS C4 FRIDAY MAY Ml 2008 IRS owes small businesses Phone companies agree to standards for fiber optics -rVJ Of- WINDMILLS from Cl lYlURYMUYMPlI AnodatadPmc nearly 9000 companies got notices About 1500 claimed refunds worth $12 million But the notices missed 3600 other small businesses whose tax returns were filed after November 2000 and before the IRS instituted a new record-keeping system The alternative minimum tax ranks among the most complicated parts of the tax code taxpayers invested time and expenses that they otherwise should not have which resulted in less time and money that they had to invest in their wrote Snowe and Bond The IRS agreed that some small companies still pay the tax in error and said it will mail notices to companies that were overlooked It also plans to educate tax professionals that advise small Missouri said in a letter to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson Indeed a refund of die aver-payment would be particularly helpfiU to smafl corporations trying to weather the current economy" The companies together may have paid $37 million in taxes they never owed under the alternative minimum ta a set of laws that prevent taxpayers firm using so many credits and de- rfnrtvwwthaHtMyriiminatP thpir 'entire tax bilL In 1997 lawmakers exempted businesses with average gross receipts of $75 million or less from the alternative minimum tax but many continued to pay Two years ago lawmakers told the IRS to notify small businesses of the change and tell them they might be owed refunds The IRS undertook an extensive education campaign and Rom itaff and win raporti The three biggest regional phone companies announced an agreement Thurs-day to standardize the construction of residential fiberoptic networks in hopes of get-tingultca-fest Internet connections to homes more quickly and less expensively Tn a l(rtlpliiniw tvjiip-ment makers Verizon Communications Inc SBC Communications Inc and BellSouth Corpi said they had agreed on technical details that affect how from centralized centers to home modems will be connected The goal is to bring far more homes and small -fat that can voice calls data TV i and bandwidtiHO-tensive applications like video-conferencing at speeds much operate the wind farm and sell TVA the electricity it produces Tlx wind turbines each costing between $1 million and $L5 million will produce enough electricity to power 4400 homes TVA officials estimated The project is a new chapter in Green Power Switch program in which consumers pay extra for electricity to show support for nonpolhiting energy sources The new windmills will be etectea on earn noe 01 me mree windmills already on top of Buffalo Mountain which are owned and operated by TVA The new project was delayed by wrangling over the wording of the statewide legislation TVro Anderson County commisskm-en who had earlier voted against die tax Ixeak later decided to endorse the proposal That move gave Sen Randy McNally RrOak Ridge the two-tinrds rmqariqr of fjwmty (Tnmrnisrinn lw tain lv wanted before introducing the bill Bob Fowler News Sentinel Anderaon County editor may be reached at 865-481-3625 to quickly deploy super-fast Internet connections along with features such as music and on-demand video features to homes in its nine-state sendee region Fiberoptic lines transmit in-formation in bursts of fight far fester than the electronic signal that course through traditional copper wiring in phone networks While many big office com-plexesare well-fed with fiberoptic lines phone 1 have said they were to spend die billions required to bring fiber to individual homes because of federal regulations that force them to lease -v tneirnetworKsro competitors at regulated prices Standardization of conqio-nents should bring down the price of carrying fiber optic connections to homes he sakL In the case of Knoxville and 29 other top markets he said 90 percent of homes are located within 1000 feet of a fiber optic Ue-modem services BpiKmrtfi pnlcpman said the agreement means BellSouth will be able THATS GREAT BUT OUR PRODUCT UONT DO ANY OF THE THINGS YOU CLAItAHERE WASHINGTON More than 300 small businesses may have unnecessarily paid taxes designed to snare companies that useloopholes ana they never got notices that they might deserve refunds Two senators said Thursday that a report describing die oversight issued by the Ttamny tax inspector gener-al showed that the Internal Revenue Service may have harmed small businesses at a time they could least afford it than paying this tax for which they were not liable these taxpayers could have instead reinvested this money into their business in the form of either new equipment or po- tentially new Republicans Olympia Snowe of Maine and Christopher Band of CHAMBER from Cl $145000 the previous yean All public money and Jobs Now! money is restricted to funding economic development activities and will not be used for member services said Mike Edwards the president and CEO The partnership hopes to add two positions in its economic community development department once the Jobs Now! money is received said Cecilia Petersen the vice president of finance and operations Jubran said revenue projections are conservative of having a big jump in revenue that we then miss during MUTUALS fromC3 COlBM 0 flLW hr 7U JtT ATM 4 00 J71LU OfcCOC 40 Mi 12 6 0 AM AMT AM Ut AIM nd 1115 AAM ill 17j0B AMAIMM pMS 0 1251 34J7 0120 NAmr MM 0120 NAM 5J4 J4 440 Ncwbl 2U7 14 Atm NHoril MS 0 150 Nine Ml am 50 NJlond 12JB7 AM aAM ypiM 140 am 1MB AM Atm 1279 AM 70 110 sM 11J7 AM 110 440 1U7 AM 70 M0 414200 07 am Am k210 0 70 210 0 B0 P23J7 AM 447 0 Ap 1417 012 AM 10 MMne 1U4 AM AAM StMuM 110 30 WQrt 421 0110 TkEJMiir 70 0110 TWnc M2S 40 440 MN 110 440 mm ii0 0 430 mi 0 20 KM 120 0 440 MndR 474 0 40 Btknckr 110 0 440 U5TM 40 40 30 U5T10 120 0 4C0 VNBond 120 0 440 ttfeap IMS -0 4411 Wue IS0 -0 44M MEflMAp 70 0 44M WSnCAp 90 10110 MSn 40 0140 IpCpMBt BM -0 S0 IflCpMAp 49 -0 440 LgpVIAp90 -0 4AM mSuka 110 0 490 SmC00r 40 40 40 SmCpAp 90 40 440 Kiln 440 1112 -0 450 NCftpp 140 0 440 KMI 130 0 490 ondp 110 0 440 Bandit 110 0 10 QrMt 140 NMBt 00 MEqp MM Mt 40 DIvEqS 3125 414 I 1 1 UELL i LdHO SHOULD UJE BELIEVE THE ALdARD-IdlNNING DESIGNER OR THE GUY LdHO CANT STOP COMPLAINING? ISUZU Gofarthw- powertrain warranty ISUZU 4000 or 0 for 60 months 7 ywr 75000 milt The chamber fell short of revenues for its projected $29 million budget for this yean Among the cost-cutting measures undertaken by Edwards who succeeded Tom Ingram in September as the president and CEO was to cut his own salary by 50 percent in February In the budget that takes effect in July the salary is reinstated md increased by 10 percent to $16500 Petersen said the raise reflects promotion from the No 2 to the Na 1 position in the chamber and ms additional responsibilities as president and CEO of The Development Com of Knox County which develops and manages the industrial parks Rhonda Rice who was pro OflfrlOOM 40 4479 MIOIBWB AmShp Jfrg 40 440 ComunAtlAM 40170 ComwBtlEM 40170 OBnwnOtl90 0170 CBMApJOSI 417 70 S0HO 1290 0 L79 Ml Moml 1439 0 Adncp 479 0 AflOrAp 7147 40190 ApprAp 120 40 440 NMAp 110 40120 MpMuApll53 0 AM S00O5Bp4S7 4 490 90 0110 AflOtt 970 421140 nmt mm 40120 MtttfBplA9 40 474 0 Olt 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insurance Petersen said Ingram was paid $200000 annually plus $50000 in benefits His last consulting fees will be paid in September Business writer Amy Nolan may be reached at 865-342-6342 00 -J3 440 900 0 ATM 441 0140 90 0 70 49 40 90 170 4000 210 120 210 0 70 1L25 0 90 120 0 449 0340 TTVnd 490 490 0140 0110 0 MK0MIN 40 490 SmKM 40 440 STM 047 0 420 09 00 40 440 0HM 431 0 470 TCHl 210 0 490 0 411 140 0 70 1412 0 ATM 49 40 490 170 4000 2L11 120 1210 0 70 170 ai 440 00 02 490 405 440 440 1 1479 J2 440 00 40 440 210 0 490 AM AAM JH MQttCt 423 40 10 00 IflCpQCt 7J5 0140 IHKI 00 0 10 MdOQAp 70 0130 UunICt 1M2 0 440 MMApl50 0 70 SdMBt 140 -0 490 40 440 Ap90 04 9t90 04 I AM 430 am 490 AM 49 0 I AM 440 am AAM I 0 440 70 0130 0140 470 i 40 440 I 4000 I 0 AAM i 1179 I 440 I AM 440 0 430 I 420 40 440 10 I 40 440 i 0 440 I 0 440 AM 420 210 MAN A 170 aP3" -0 DILBEKT THE NEbJ PRODUCT BROCHURES HAVE ALREADY UON DESIGN AUJARDSI TOWERS from Cl weather is bad Wright said rain and lightning are the biggest hurdles He described the tower as a big lightning rod Fog also can slow the pace 1 of wort At M00 feet up the weather can be more intense than on the ground Even when it is calm and warm at the base of the tower the crew members atop it are fighting the cold and wind And the tower sways It is anchored in place by guy wires but it still sways Transmitters on the guy wires fell Wright if the tower is moving Even on clear days without much wind the tower moves On Wednesday afternoon it shifted four feet in about 30 minutes and was adjusted back into place with the guy wires is no place rather said Doug Stallard chief engineer for WVLT-TV who did tower maintenance for many years on it part of it If it moves you move" Wrignt has been building towers for 16 years He estimated the workers in his crew have been at it an average of about seven years each The hardest part is the travel Wright said Radiant Construction sends crews all over the world to build towers like the one on Sharps Ridge get home much You divorce a said Wright who calls Florida home able to do this is not that common Lots of people can build smaller Wright hopes the tower will be completed in three weeks after which the crew will go to New Orleans The tower is already with both WVLT-TV and WKOP-TV broadcasting digital tTanmlin Stallard along with Curtis Allen chief engineer for WKOP-TV and Mike Murrell chief engineer for WUOT-FM have witnessed the gradual erection from the ground been interesting watching the tower go up ana working in the new transmission Allen said "These guys make it look easy They have a routine for stacking the Staff writer Rachel Kovac can be reached at 865342-6Z7L 0140 iiwimp Ap 947 s0 70 Bt 1479 s0 70 EqGTAp AM 0 470 IqSrtt All 70 Gop 110 am 20 GMBt 1L73 0 10 OMBp 210 0 70 BwthBr 2179 0 70 MAr 50 0 440 Mit 50 0 45 0 IrtfMi 70 40 40 InCSAp 70 40 40 LCSMt 70 40 440 LT20ORI 90 40 70 70 IfCGmA 140 LpCVMA 140 OPMPM0 C0AppT MM MUMP 120 Map 140 Map 1473 451 UlMAp 90 AM AIM 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