Spray Plan
Commissioners that advisor Berger’s
State of Washington roadside vegeta
tion management program is second
to none in the entire U.S., in terms
of percentage of budget used for her
bicide purchase—a whopping 48
percent.
Attorney C. Peter Sorenson, who
represents ROADS, successfully
countered the Commissioner’s move
to resume herbicide spraying in
October.
“Ironically, it is the manufacturers’
instructions for application of some
of these chemicals that enabled us to
have a potential lawsuit,” says Soren
son. One of the herbicides that was
scheduled to be used in October
specifically indicates not to apply it
Continued from page 3
where runoff is likely to occur. “This
is ridiculous when you consider that
the stated intent of the Public Works’
proposed spray program is to keep
vegetation off of roadside ditches.
What are ditches for? For runoff.”
“Right now the Commissioners
have agreed to give us 60 days’ notice
of intent to resume spraying ... but
that's conditional,” Sorenson says
equivocally, “on whether they decide
to tell us.”
Jan Wroncy sees another political
reality of the situation—population
density. “They wouldn’t ever consider
trying to touch Eugene . . . within the
city limits, with a spray program,” she
observes, referring to intense and
rapid opposition that would mobilize.
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■FINANCE
Keeping More of What You Earned
by Bere Lindley and Julia Lucich
D
ecember presents a special op
portunity for you to make a
gift to yourself in the form of
reduced income taxes. This is accom
plished through tax planning. Year
end tax planning consists of analyz
ing your financial and tax situation
late in the year and then surveying the
available techniques for opportunities
to lower the income tax bill.
At this time of year, two basic
strategies are employed for reducing
income taxes, whether the taxpayer is
an individual or a business. One is to
plan the timing of income and deduc
tible expenses. For example, should
your final quarterly payment of esti
mated state income tax be paid this
month or next month? The other basic
strategy is to plan the structure of ma
jor transactions so they will qualify
for available benefits. An example of
this would be considering whether to
structure a consumer loan as a home
equity loan in order to ensure full
deductibility of the interest expense.
As a very general rule, most tax
payers will want to defer the receipt
of taxable income until January, and
pay deductible expense in December
rather than January. There are two
reasons for this. First, it results in a
postponement of tax by one year. Se
cond, tax rates for 1988 will be lower
than in 1987, causing deductible ex
penses to be more rewarding this year
than next, and income to be less cost
ly next year than this year. The excep-.
tions to this general rule can be very
important and should not be
overlooked.
While bearing in mind that you
must determine whether your situa
tion is an exception to the general
rules, here are a few tactics you can
consider:
• If you have a bonus coming at
year end, try to get it deferred to
January.
• If you are in business, delay the
mailing of invoices and statements so
that the income will not arrive until
January. This will not work if you are
an accrual basis taxpayer.
• Pay deductible items ahead of
schedule, in December rather than
January. This would include business
expenses and itemized deductions for
individuals if your itemized deduc
tions exceed the standard deduction.
The standard deduction for 1987 is
$2,540 for a single person and $3,700
for a married couple filing jointly.
• Itemized deductions that might be
accelerated include state income tax
payments, property tax payments,
contributions, medical bills, and
employee business expenses. Medical
and employee business expenses,
among others, must exceed a certain
percentage of your income to be
deductible. Therefore, there is no
point in accelerating these items
unless you know that the minimum
will be exceeded.
• If you are sitting on a stock port
folio that is worth less now than when
you bought it, you need to make some
calculations concerning when and
how much to sell. There can be some
excellent opportunities in this area,
but the prospects are very sensitive to
your individual circumstances, which
makes generalized advice difficult to
offer.
[Bert W. Lindley, CPA is a partner in
the accounting firm of Blackburn &
Lindley, which offers Tax, Planning,
Estate, Accounting, and Management
Advisory Services. Julia Lucich is an
agent/Registered Representative of the
New York Life Ins. Co. /New York Life
Securities Corp., specializing in
Business Insurance and Estate Plan
ning.}
A
Northwest
Futon
Christmas.
The twelve days before Christmas
Folks all through the town
Were scurrying for presents
And at the mouth down.
When—Hark!—came a message
That challenged the weary
To arrive at the Big Day
Relaxed and quite cheery.
I
It was: Northwest Futon is having a sale!
Each day from the 13th they’re taking
off ten
Or twenty percent on the items you yen:
Sunday the 1 3th is lucky for you
Who’ve been eyeing our furniture;
bedframes, too!
The 14th—that’s Monday—our special is
sheets;
They’re flannel and cotton and warm up
your feets.
On Tuesday the 15th we open our
doors
With tatami and rugs to cover your
floors.
On Wednesday the 16th you may want
to wonder
Which warm, comfy comforter you’d
rather be under.
Thursday’s the day for beautiful rugs;
The 17th’s for pottery vases and jugs.
Saturday the 19th come in for a while,
Especially if you like jewelry with
style.
- The 20th: Sheets from England will keep
you all snug at night,
While Monday you’ll glow by our lamps’
very soft light.
This is the countdown—it’s now or it’s
never—
So we have surprises both practical and
clever.
Kimonos are lovely for men and for
women;
Antique or flannel, they’re perfect to
lounge in.
Come Wednesday, come put our
pillows beneath you;
For some lucky folks that’s the last
shopping they’ll do.
Every year there are always some
lateniks
Still doing shopping the eve of St. Nick’s;
if you are among them (and chilled by
your blunder).
Our warm snuggly comforters are great
to crawl under.
Our sale, though not divinely inspired,
is meant to save people
From shopping dog-tired.
It’s time of the year to gather the spirit
And envision peace so the whole world
can hear it.
Special Sale Hours:
Mon-Fri 10-6/Thurs 10-7/Sat 10-5/Sun 12-4
N O R 7 H V E 5 7
FUTON
( O MV P A N y
1030 Willamette St.
342-1762