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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2002)
Page A4 </)li»rvurr January 30,2002 O pinion ‘r i‘ JJnrtknnh OObseruer USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 Established 1970 4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin Lu ther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f ifjortlanh (Dbeertier E ] d it o » - i n - C h ie f ,P u » l is h e k Charles H. Washington E d i A sst . P C o n T o » The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND u s l is h e k Michael Leighton E d it o » Joy Ramos Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B u s in e s s M a n a g e » Gary Ann Taylor C a E A T I y E OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITHOUT PERM ISSION IS PROHIBITED. D I K E C T O K Paul Neufeldt The Portland Observer—Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 P e rio d ic a l P o s ta g e paid In P o rtla n d , OR • S u b scriptio n s are $ 6 0 .0 0 per year 5 0 8 2 8 8 0 0 3 3 • FAX5 0 8 2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: news@Dortlandobserver.com subschDtion@Dortlandobserver.com ads@oortlandobserver.ci Is There Such a Thing As Tax Returns with a Silver Lining? A s O regonians receive their W -2 form s from their em ployers and tax form s from the state and federal revenue agencies, m ark ing the beginning o f tax season, thousands o f O regon families who worked last year will be eligible for federal and state tax credits that can reduce or elim inate their taxes. In som e cases the credits m ight even provide additional funds to help families m ake ends meet. The Oregon Center for Public Policy, a S ilverton-based non-partisan re search o rg an iz atio n , w ants to make sure that families who qualify get the credits and know they can receive free tax help. T he Federal governm ent offers the Earned Income Credit to w ork ing fam ilies. The E IC ’s value is based on incom e and fam ily size and can be worth up to $4,008. The Federal A dditional C hild Tax Credit is available to working fami lies with children. Even if a family has no tax liability, they can get m oney back from these credits. “Even families w hodo not earn enough m oney to have to file taxes, ought to,” advises John Lew is, adm inistrator o f the O r egon C enter for Public Policy. “T hese fam ilies m ay still qualify for these federal credits. That could m ean significant additional incom e for the fam ily.” Oregon provides working fami lies with tw o credits, a state Earned Incom e C redit equal to 5 percent o f the federal E IC , and the W ork ing Fam ily C hild C are Credit, w orth up to 40 percent o f out-of- pocket child care expenses. W hile neither o f the O regon credits will give back more money While neither o f the Oregon credits will give back more money than the fam ily’s state income tax liability, the families may still get money back from the state if taxes were withheld by their employer over the course o f last year. than the fam ily ’ s state incom e tax liability, the fam ilies m ay still get m oney back from the state if taxes were w ithheld by their em ployer o ver the course o f last year. Free help preparing state and W e ig h t L o s s P r o m o tio n s T h in federal tax returns is available from A A R P and 1RS sponsored ‘T a x - A ide” sites throughout Oregon. T rained volunteers are available to an sw e r q u estio n s, h elp do taxes, and in som e locations even file the taxes electronically (“e- file”). “Low -incom e fam ilies do not need to pay som eone to do their taxes,” said Lew is. “All they need to d o is c a ll 1-888-A A R PN O W or 1-888-227-7669 and find the local T ax A ide site to get free assis tan ce.” “T hese credits all target then- help to low -incom e fam ilies w ho w ork,” said Lewis. “Even though a fam ily is w orking, it isn ’t easy to m ake ends m eet if y o u ’re m aking seven o r eight dollars an hour. T he credits are a w ay o f providing relief to those w ho need it the m ost.” T he C en ter’s outreach m ateri als are also helpful for em ployers and organizations w ho have co n tact with O reg o n ’s low incom e workforce. “Em ployers should be telling their em ployees about these cred its. O rganizations w ho w ork with low -incom e fam ilies should be inform ing their clients about these credits. Every fam ily w ho quali fies should be applying for these credits,” said Lew is. “N o h ard w o rk in g , lo w -in c o m e fam ily should m iss out on this opportu nity.” F or m ore inform ation or to re quest these free outreach tools, c o n ta c t John L e w is at jlewis @ocpp.org,503-873-1201, or on the web: w ww .ocpp.org/tc. For questions about federal taxes o r to find the location o f a T ax-A ide site contact the IRS at 1 - 800-829-1040. For questions about state taxes contact the O regon D epartm ent o f Re venue at 1-800- 3564222. Now, a Credit Union for You Y o u r W a lle t, N o t Y o u r F ig u r e Fads com e and go, but w hen it com es to diets, the negative health effects can be perm anent. W e all know individuals who go on diets even w hen they d o n ’t need to lose weight. A ccording to health experts, fad diets are dan gerous when they keep you from getting the calories and nutrients you need to function at optim al levels. T he popularity o f m ost fad d i ets is usually short-lived, and so is the w eight loss associated with the diet. If you stay on a restrictive diet over a long period o f tim e, you may deprive your body o f neces sary vitam ins and nutrients. Teens are especially vulnerable to fad diets because they have bodies that experience dram atic changes and frequent grow th spurts. Som e dieters believe pills and capsules that prom ise to ‘bum , block, flush,’ or otherw ise elim i nate fat from their system will help them toquickly becom e slim m er. H ow ever, m edical science has yet to com e up w ith a healthy m agic pill, potion o r device that g uaran tees im m ediate w eight loss. Some pills m ay control your appetite, but they often have seri ous side effects. D epending on the ingredients, diet pills can cause nervousness, vomiting or insom nia, and they can be addictive. The fact is, the only w ay to lose w eight w hile m aintaining overall health is to consistently eat few er calories than your body needs and uses. T his can be done by eating w ell balanced m eals, doing m ore exercise, o r both. A ccording to the B etter B usi ness Bureau, m isleading w eight loss advertisem ents are on the rise. M any w eight loss prom o- tions prom ise the loss o f several pounds in a w eek o r overnight, w ithout having to restrict favorite foods or exercise regularly. Since many w eight loss prom o tions only thin your wallet, not your figure, the BBB advises con s u m e rs to c h e c k o u t th e com pany’s record with the BBB; question vaguely w orded testi m onials and claim s prom ising im m ediate, effortless and/or guaran teed w eight loss; rem em ber that buzzw ords like ‘breakthrough, secret, exclusive, o r m iraculous,’ are only descriptive, not scientific w ords and that they often appear in ads selling fraudulent diet prod ucts; and say no to high pressure sales tactics and one-tim e-only offers. 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