FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 22, 2017
News from Hardman Community Center Tax Wise and
Otherwise
Creth Harris’s 100 th
birthday party at the Hard-
man Community Center
was well attended. While
members say they don’t
have an official head count
from the guest book, they
Creth Harris at her 100 th
birthday party at Hardman
Community Center Sunday.
-Photo by Dick Paris
are guessing that close to
200 people stopped by to
congratulate the centenar-
ian. Creth had lots of family
in for the celebration and
her many friends and neigh-
bors enjoyed the chance to
visit after the long winter.
Donnamae Craber
Grannemann donated cake
pedestals for the occasion
and Don Craber provided
a laminated article for dis-
play; Paul and Gayle Arbo-
gast also made a donation.
The Palmer girls minded
the store again as part of
their 4-H Community ser-
vice. Congratulations are
also in order to Hannah
Palmer—she is our state
Make It With Wool ambas-
sador.
Bob and Sylvia Allen’s
daughter, Linda, brought
out their handmade rocking
horses, trucks and dream-
catchers to add to the store
merchandise—the proceeds
go to photo framing costs.
Gerald and Diana Hoeft and
Tami Rietmann have stated
they will look through their
photo collections for pic-
tures or copies to donate.
HCC members say they
really appreciate this and
are looking forward to the
“surprises.”
The Annex heater is on
back order—MCGG called
the supplier several times
in an effort to get it there
in time for the party, and
their efforts were appreci-
ated. The new ship date is
the middle of March. Mel
McDaniel worked a bit
more on trim in the dining
room. Claudia Smythe, Jan-
ice Weis and Kathy Rankin
tidied up the Hall prior to
Creth’s party, and Mel filled
the wood box and got the
water on. Kathy Rankin
will donate a mud rug for
in front of the main double
doors to replace the piece
of carpet they are currently
using.
The HCC Board has
approved the following
projects for summer of
2017: finish ceiling and
window trim in dining
room, clean the upstairs,
tile the women’s bathroom
floor, paint the women’s
bath hall, re-stain the dark
edges of the main floor
and reseal the whole main
floor, and have the piano
tuned. These projects were
all funded by private dona-
tions from 2016 and have
been okayed by the State
Restoration Specialist. The
board is pending approval
on remodeling the men’s
room into a handicap bath,
until they have had a chance
to look at plans and costs.
They also okayed Rick
McDaniel to weather strip
the front door as ongoing
maintenance.
The following items
were tabled, pending more
information on plans and
costs: reroofing the An-
nex, removing carpet on
stage, rebuilding the back
porch and removing pan-
try the door. The board
also shelved work on the
front of the building and
steps down to the “park”
as they have authorized the
secretary to write a façade
grant, which will incorpo-
rate those items.
Last, HCC members
express gratitude and ask
for prayers. They say they
are thankful that their
neighbor, Sam Schmidt is
finally home after breaking
his hip two months ago, and
that member May Ward’s
hip, also broken, is mending
nicely and that she was able
to recuperate at home.
They also ask for
prayers for board member
Bob Stevens, who is in the
hospital with complications
from appendicitis surgery.
They say that Stevens’s
recollections of all things
Hardman is their guiding
light in their preservation
and restoration efforts. Fi-
nally, they ask for prayers
and send condolences to
Jere LeDoux, who lost his
dear Linda to cancer this
past week. Jere was instru-
mental in much of the work
done on the Hall in the 80s
and early 90s, including
reroofing both buildings.
Linda was a warm and
welcoming person whose
light will be greatly missed
by all who knew her.
Boardman sets council annual retreat
date
The Boardman City
Council, at its Feb. 7 meet-
ing, scheduled its annual
goal-setting workshop for
March 4. Councilors and
city department heads will
meet at the Boardman Se-
nior Center at 7:30 a.m. for
the community breakfast,
then assemble at Boardman
City Hall at 8:15 a.m. to
begin the meeting.
This is a planning ses-
sion where no planned de-
liberations or decisions
will be made regarding any
specific subject. General
discussions regarding city
council goals and direction
will occur. The public is
invited; however, since this
is a workshop session, there
may not be opportunity for
public comment.
In other city business,
the council approved a reso-
lution to transfer $100,000
of grant money the city
received in 2013 from the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone II for economic in-
centives to the Boardman
Community Development
Association for their hous-
ing program.
Councilors also passed
two other resolutions, one
for a budget transfer from
the contingency fund. The
other resolution was in
support of legislation to
restore recreational immu-
nity to property owners and
employees of recreational
facilities.
The next regular meet-
ing of the Boardman City
Council will be Tuesday,
March 7, at Boardman City
Hall and will begin at 7 p.m.
A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA
IRS Responds to Executive Order
Last week the IRS responded to President Trump’s
executive order concerning the Individual Mandate pro-
vision of the Affordable Health Care Act. The Individual
Mandate penalizes taxpayers who are without full health-
care coverage; they face an additional tax as ruled by the
Supreme Court in 2012. For tax year 2016, the penalty/
tax rose to 2.5 percent of total household adjusted gross
income, or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, to a
maximum of $2,085.
Previously, the IRS stated they would reject any tax
return which did not indicate if every member of the
taxpayer’s household was covered by health insurance
or not. In response to the executive order, the IRS gave
notice they will accept returns and process refunds for
taxpayers who do not make the disclosure. What happens
after that remains to be seen. The IRS might later request
proof of healthcare coverage, and if not provided, assess
the penalty/tax.
However, the IRS has limited tools to collect the
penalty; they cannot file liens or levy property due to
a special provision of the tax code. Also, a taxpayer is
not subject to criminal charges or penalty for failure to
pay the individual mandate penalty in a timely manner.
It appears taxpayers without health insurance might be
able to dodge the penalty for now. More changes can be
expected as incoming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
will soon oversee the IRS.
Oregon Deduction for Marijuana Business Expenses
That came as a surprise when released earlier by the
Oregon Department of Revenue. However, when com-
paring Oregon law to federal law, it makes perfect sense.
Under both federal and Oregon tax laws, any income from
illegal activities is fully taxable. However, most related
expenses are not deductible under section 280E of the
federal tax code.
Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, most
related expenses are not allowed as deductions against
federal taxable income. The only deductions allowed
are for the cost of goods sold; which is basically the cost
of inventory for retailers or the cost of raising crops for
growers. Retailers have been hit with huge federal tax
bills since they are not allowed to deduct their operating
expenses. One of the largest medical marijuana providers
in the United States is currently battling the IRS in tax
court over a $2.4 million tax bill.
Since marijuana sales are legal in Oregon, the state
now allows a deduction for the expenses disallowed on
federal tax returns. The deduction is allowed by select-
ing Code 359 on Schedule OR-ASC. A future article will
discuss how an IRS agent tried to earn a bribe from a
marijuana retailer and ended up in jail.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any ques-
tions about this article.
Daniel Van Schoiack CPA, can be contacted at 541-
676-9971 or danielrvan@yahoo.com. Recent articles can
be viewed at danielcpapro.com.
Camelina oil could be economically feasible as source of
commercial jet fuel, new OSU analysis shows
By Chris Branam
CORVALLIS, Ore.—
The camelina plant, which
shows promise as a biofuel
because of the oil contained
in its seeds, could become
an economically feasible
alternative to conventional
jet fuel under certain market
conditions, according to a
new Oregon State Univer-
sity analysis.
Years of research at
OSU and other universi-
ties has demonstrated that
camelina can be grown
on marginal land and has
potential as a rotation crop
with wheat, thus preserving
soil that would otherwise
erode from fallow fields and
providing a new alternative
market for farmers.
But the current low
price of conventional
kerosene-based jet fuel
makes it cost-prohibitive
for commercial airlines
to use camelina-based jet
fuel, said Jeff Reimer, an
economist in the College of
Agricultural Sciences and
the study’s lead author.
Reimer’s regional eco-
nomic model accounts for
key sectors of the camelina
supply chain as an alterna-
tive jet fuel, using detailed
data for the Pacific North-
west. He found that a gallon
of camelina-based jet fuel
would cost about 60 cents
more than conventional
jet fuel.
“Farmers won’t grow
it unless there is a market
for it, and they don’t have
a market for it unless refin-
ers have a place to sell it,”
Reimer said. “That’s the
supply chain problem.”
The study was pub-
lished in the journal Re-
newable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews.
The U.S. Air Force is
already using camelina
fuel in some of its aircraft.
Reimer said “substantial
government intervention”
would be one way to create
a market for camelina for
use as a commercial avia-
tion biofuel. Three alterna-
tives include:
-a 17 percent subsidy
on camelina crop produc-
tion;
-a 20 percent tax on
conventional jet fuel; or
-a combination nine
percent subsidy on the alter-
native fuel and nine percent
tax on the conventional
fuel.
Camelina would also
be a practical alternative if
airline passengers volun-
tarily elect to pay more to
travel if they perceive an
environmental benefit to
using the oilseed, he said,
allowing airlines to use the
proceeds to offset the higher
cost.
“This case is unlikely
to arise in the real world,”
he said.
“This biofuel works
brilliantly,” he said. “A
number of airlines want to
buy it. But we are in an era
of very low oil prices. If the
airlines are using millions
of gallons of fuel per year,
it would cost them too much
to switch.”
Operators of com-
mercial airports, including
those in Portland and Se-
attle, have a strong inter-
est in U.S.-sourced biofu-
els, either for diversifying
their fuel supplies or for
perceived environmental
reasons such as a reduction
in net greenhouse gas emis-
sions, he said.
One of the selling
points of camelina is that
it can be a “home grown”
source of fuel with very
low production costs, Re-
imer said. But even if the
camelina is produced by
local farms, its processing
might not occur within their
region.
Or, he said, if the pro-
cessing is done within the
region, the camelina could
perhaps be sourced most
efficiently from outside
the region, such as from
Canadian farmers, thereby
diluting the “home grown”
nature of the energy re-
source from the viewpoint
of U.S. policymakers.
“It might be cheaper to
produce both the camelina
and camelina-based avia-
tion fuel in Canada and im-
port it to the United States,
he said. “That wouldn’t
benefit American farmers
or processors.”
Xiojuan Zheng, a doc-
toral graduate of OSU who
now works for Dell Corp.,
co-authored the study. The
USDA National Institute of
Food and Agriculture partly
funded the research.
HEPPNER LES SCHWAB WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE
LADY MUSTANGS ON THEIR FINE SEASON!
VARSITY
GIRLS-
TRESSLYN MCCURRY - MAKAYLA SILVIA - RIANE DOMPIER
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