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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1956)
II n co me Tax Expert On Dependents on xpiains questions of Returns Editor's Note: The commissioner of internal revenue, in the third of five dispatches, takes np the question of exemptions for taxpayers. Washington (U.R) The claim lag of exemptions on income tax returns raises a great number of questions. They oover such matters as support of elderly relatives, school age children who earn mney, divorced couples, surviv ors, and the matter of extra ex emptions for the aged and blind. The law covers most of the possibilities, but individual tax payers still come to us with these problems and their variations. To start with, each taxpayer it entitled to one $600 exemption for himself, or herself. The tax payer gets another $600 exemp tion if he's 65 or older and still another $600 if he is blind. The $600 extra exemption for blind ness can be claimed by the tax payer at any age. This also ap plies to the blind wife or husband of the taxpayer, but not to any other dependent. Incidentally, a point to re member in determining your age for tax purposes is that you are t considered to be one year older the day before, your birthday. So, if you reached your 65th birthday on or before Jan. 1 of this year, you may legally claim that extra $600 exemption for all of 1955. Dependent Exemptions The matter of exemptions for dependents is handled different ly from those of your husband or wife. An illustration of this is a tax payer supporting his mother who is 70. He is entitled to just one $600 exemption for her, and not the extra one because she is over 65. For a person to qualify as a dependent, the taxpayer must provide more than one-half of his or her support. The only ex ception to this rule is where sev eral persons contributed to the support of an individual. For example, if several sons and daughters supported their moth er, but none contributed over half the support, they may des ignate one of their number to claim the exemption. The person designated must have contrib uted over 10 per cent of the support and all the others must file a declaration that they will tot claim their mother as a de pendent. Form 2120 is available at the nearest Internal Revenue Service office for this purpose. Student Exemptions ; With so - many more children! going on to college and the cost of ' higher education going up, Congress changed the law : in 1954 to permit a child under 19, or a "full-time" student of any age to be claimed as a dependent if he receives more than half of his support from his parents. The law defines a full-time stu dent as one who is engaged in full-time study at a recognized school for at least five months of the year, or who is pursuing one of certain full-time on-f arm train ing programs. A typical question asked at our offices last year was: My son, who is 21 years old, earned $650 working as a waiter while at tending college in 1955. May I claim him as a dependent on my 1955 returns? The answer is yes, if you fur nished more than one-half of his support, during the year and if he was a "full-time" student. Another question along this line was: "My son who is a mi nor worked as a delivery boy for our grocer. For this, the gro cer paid me $200. Must I include this amount in my income for the year 1955?" The answer here is no. That's because money paid for the serv ices of a minor child are included in his gross income, not the in come of the parent even though the minor child does not receive the money. Personal Exemption If the child earns $600 or more he must file a return for himself. He may claim his own personal exemption on his own return. Thus a child may actually qual ify as two exemptions: Once on his own return and once on his parents'. The law provides special tax rates for any individual who qualifies as a "head of house hold." This means, in general, an unmarried or legally separated person who furnished more than half the maintenance cost of a household which also was occu pied during the entire year by (a) sny related person for whom you are entitled to a dependency exemptions or (b) an unmarried child, grandchild, or stepchild, even though such child is not a dependent. You may also qualify if you maintain a home else where for your father or mother and either qualifies as your de pendent. Form 1040 must be used to claim the benefits of the lower tax rates for a "head of house hold." The saving to you is about one-half that of married couples filing joint returns. The cost of maintaining a household includes such items as rent, insurance, repairs, utilities, food, etc. It does not include clothing, edu cation, medical expenses and the like even though you may pay these. It is best to remember when a problem of a dependent arises that he or she must meet five tests. First, you must have furnished more than half of his or her sup port. Second, the dependent's gross income must have been less than $600 for the taxable year or, if it exceeds S600, the depend ent child must be under 19 or a "full-time" student. Third, the dependent must be related, or at least a member, of your house hold and have your home as Ms or her. principal dwelling place. Fourth, the dependent must be a citizen or resident of the United States, or a resident of Canada, Mexico, the Republic of Panama, or the Canal Zone. And last, but not least, he or she must not be making a joint return with his or her husband or wife. - Now that we have the matter of forms and their use and some of the problems of dependents out of the way, let me again mention the never-repeated-too-often reminder to file your re turn as soon as possible prior to the year's deadline of midnight, April 16, Thursday: How to make de How To Get Yourself Disliked Editor's note: During the 30 years Jimmy Hatlo has been drawing "They'll Do It Every Time," he has been deluged by readers with exam ples of man's inhumanity to man, which makes him, whether he likes it or not, an authority on the subject. With a tip of the Hatlo hat to his con tributors, the artist and author has drawn on this rich background for this series of six articles, spotlighting the pests who annoy the most people from coast to coast. By JIMMY HATLO Some people have made the accusation that mankind's essen tial orneriness is implicit in the title of my cartoon, "They'll Do It Every Time." There was a time when I would have denied it, but a certain regard for the truth forces me to admit that it's 90 per cent true. ' When I began to draw the panel, I was mostly preoccupied with little misfortunes . and petty frustrations, the dandruff of daily living, so to speak. Most of them seemed to stem from a depersonalized "they" other people who suffered as acciden tal gremlins. But as I began to observe more closely, and as the suggestions mailed in by read ers told me, this "they"" wasn't so depersonalized ' ' as I had thought. And finally I realized that you and I and others like us were being abused, cheated, embarrassed, bored and pushed around day in and day out by this collection of human poison ivy we're been talking about this week. One of the most annoying types, even if harmless, is the blowhard. There's one and sometimes, Lord help us, more, in every of fice. Ol' Bullister J. Bragwell himself. Listen to him tell how his house has appreciated to three times its original value. Hear him speak of writing a check in five figures. Dig that routine about the wad he blew in El Clippo last night and how the blonde on the end of the chorus line kept kicking her shoe in his lap. You bet. Now take a gander at the . seat of Bragwell's pants. Careful' Don't let the flash blind you. It's the only part of him that gets as much use as his mouth. It's a pity his shoes aren't that shiny, even if they do have brand new insoles cut that morning from the cardboard the laundry. puts in his shirts. . Listen to Those -Dames Bragwell's female counterpart is as common at bridge clubs as ants at a picnic. To hear her tell it, General Motors doesn't dare make a move without con sulting her husband, Cheddar. They wanted him to be chairman of the board, she says, but Cheddar didn't want to be tied down! He likes to freelance. Now let's listen to the dames at the next table who've been taking it all in. "Freelance that's a big deal way of saying stay in bed till noon," mutters AND "TODAY MY HOME fS WORTH AT LEAST 65,0002? , BUT WHAT'S MONEY? I CAN WPITE A CWECX FOR TWO HUNDRED (3RAND I DON'T HAVE TO KEEP WORKIN' YESSJR I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING, BEEN EVERYWHERE DYA KNOW I TURNED DOWN A COMMISSION LAST WAR? I SAYS TO THE GENERAL,! UKE ACTION PUT ME WHERE THE earns tough -ii I PUT MP WH FRF TUP . THE LOUDMOUTH triples the value of his house. WE GUARANTEE &$m YQBtt IMPROVI AMY RtCtPf THAT CALLS FOR FLOUR WITH KITCHEN CRAFT ja FLOUR vSutvl far pis. inUh, oteeot. Kitchen SiLEEnaY ST0QE About 200 Expected At SOC's Dad Day Ashland About 200 fathers are expected to participate in Dad's day activities at Southern Oregon college Saturday, Feb. 11, according to Neal Wyatt, Dillard, president of the spon soring men's scholastic honor ary, Theta Belta Phi. Fathers will register between S ajn. and 12 noon Saturday, and a business meeting will be held at 2 p.m. A tea for mothers who ac company husbands will be held at 2 p.m. according to Lee Ben nett of Medford, general chair man of the event. Rudy Vest of Ashland is in charge of campus tours which will start at 3:30 p. m. - . A banquet is planned for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Lincoln Training school. Don Lowrence of Junction City is chairman in charge of the banquet. Gene Brown of Ashland is registration chairman. Dad's club officers include David Geddes, Roseburg; Elmer Wade, Klamath Falls, and Dr. Loren Messenger, SOC faculty member. - More than 80 per cent of wine using families consider wine moderate or low in price, accord ing to a nationwide survey. one of the players. "I wish Ched dar would stay afloat long enough for her to pay me the five bucks she borrowed' last May," sniffs another. Doesn't she know anybody with an or dinary job?" asks a third. "I never heard her talk about any body lower than a vice presi dent." . When one of these characters shows up after a siege in the hos pital, it's time to head for the hills. The first thing Droolberry does, after explaining that his operation was the greatest exca vation since the Panama Canal, is to brag about how he wowed the nursing staff. A few boobs will always stand around lap ping up such corn, but the truth is Droolberry, who looks like a bag of prison laundry and has the personality of an untipped waiter, was lucky to get out of the ward alive. At : least two nurses wanted to take "his pulse at the throat with both hands. , And so they go -tormented by their own inadequacies, they have to bend our ears. Wurra, wurra, wurra. Next: The Bootlicker. 1956, King Features Syndicate, Inc. Wednesday, February 8, 1958 MEDFORD (OREGON). MAIL TRIBUNE THREE yf TAURUS APR 2) STAR GAZEE! ARIES MAR. 22 CAPR. 20 SV37-47-6a ( 7 MAY 21 ,14-19-26-31 '48-76-80-81 GEMINI MAY 22 J J JUNE 22 Khl2-16-40-d K345-52-69 CANCER JUNE 23 gWJULY 23 R21-29-32-3a MV41-461 IEO JULY 2a & AUG. 23 H43-44-55a 70-75-79-86 VIRGO AUG. 24 SEPT. 22 5- 6- 9-23 24-27-72 -By CLAY R. POLLAN Yoor Daily Activity Guide According to the Stars. To develop message for Thursday, read words corresponding to numbers of your Zodiac birth sign. 1 Reassurance 31 Financiol 6) Sincere 2 Comes 32 Friends 62 Your 3 Pull 33 Anolysi 63 To 4 Your 34 Attroefi- 64 A 5. Impatience 35 Some 65 Good 6 Con 7 Pocfcerbook 8 In - 9 Cause 10 Your 11 That 12 Wotch 13 Time 14 Some 15 Fovorobte 16 Your 17 Conditions 18 For 19 CM 20 Gets 21 Examine 22 Plons 23 Someone 24 To 25 Horns 26 Your 27 Go 28 And 29 Your 30 Self 36 Opportunity 66 Break - 37 Loves 67 Counsel SCORPIO OCT. 24 NOV. 22 " 3- 8-10-: 8-50-83-85 38 Find 39 Person 40 Money 41 Out 42 Lend ' 43 Time . 44 For 45 Or 46 Who's 47 You 48 Plons 49 Decide- 50 Be 51 Beckons 52 Borrow 53 You 54 Moy 55 Action 56 For 57 Journeys 58 Dealing 59 Seek 60 Distant 63 Dearly 69 Nothing 70 With 71 Dealings 72 Astroy 73 So 74 Today 75 Old 76 Requite 77 Be 78 Alert 79 Money 80 Further 81 Study 82 And 83 Somewhat 84 Know 85 86 Matters 87 Yourself . 88 Writings 89 Concerning 90 Finances 29 SAGITTARIUS NOV. 23 DEC 22 B5-39-54-59, 162-67-89-90' i Conservative! 5-17- )Good () Adverse Neucrd USRA SEPT. 23 OCT 23 K5-66-74 VSJ CAPRICORN DEC. 23 JAN. 20 B4-36-5V-173-77-78 AQUARIUS - JAN. 21 FEB. Y err- Uo-71 -82-88 P3-18-30-33iri 149-63-84-87 A Nichol's Worth of . . . Comment On This and That By HARMAN W. NICHOLS United Press Feature Writer Washington (U.R) What's new in Washington: Dan and Dal Wolford of Un iontown, Pa., are identical twins but al ways dfd ev erything they could to ap pear unidenti ical. They af fected differ f erent man nerisms. One had a crew cut, the other a "duck tail." Now, they're in . the Army at Fort Knox, Ky. Both privates take 30-inch steps, swing their arms according to - regulations and have identical haircuts. - r7 sr Harman Nichols i- Mrs. Catherine Vannoy, a first grade teacher at Qeorge Mason school in Arlington, Va., asked her six-year-olds to think about what they wanted to do when they grow up and draw a picture to illustrate. One little girl hand ed in a blank piece of paper. She said she thought about -getting married, "but r don't know how to draw it." a NW Gas Price To Be Unchanged Portland (U.R) Ray C. Fish, board chairman of Pac ific Northwest Pipeline company said here yesterday the price of natural gas in the Northwest would not be affected by pas sage of the controversial natur al gas bill. Fish said that, if President Eis enhower signs the bill, it will have "zero" effect on the rates Northwest consumers will pay. Gas is expected to be piped here by . next summer. The gas bUl cancels the Fed eral. Power Commission's .auth ority to regulate gas prices at the well. However, the FPC has not been exercising this author ity. Fish said the pipeline comp any was regulated by the FPC under terms of a certificate that provides for specific royalties on gas purchased from well owners and a sales price in line with costs. Sen. Robert Kerr of Oklahoma offers to his constituents the homily in his famed "Kerr Ker nel", postscript to his news let ter. "Charity does ' begin at home, but too often fails to. get any farther." The SrAithsonian ..Institution would like us to know, what 'we should have looked upi already: The shoreline at Point; Barrow, Alaska, the northernrrjbst land under Old Glory, is receding at the rate of seven feet a year. It's no telling how many zillion years it will take the "point" to come down into rebel terri tory. V Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, is 1,700 miles closer to the North Pole than New York, but it has an average January temperature only one degree lower, than that which prevails here. PIT Raises Pay Of Oregon Workers Portland (U.R) A pay raise for 175 Oregon members of the AFL Order of Repeatermen and Toll Testboardmen . was an nounced yesterday by the union and Pacific Telephone and Tele graph company. . The increases range from $3 to $4.50 per week to raise top scale to $105 per week. James F. Bell, executive vice president of Portland Gas and Coke company, added his com ment to Fish's saying: "As near ly as I can appraise the situation, passage of the bill will have very little impact on our rates." J ; So smooth it leaves you breathless K 7 mirnqff the anatest tucme C ... . VODKA SO proof. Msde From 1 00 grain neutral spins). See. Pierre Smirnoff Fls. lnc.Harribrd.Cona. EaBHMBBaBBBBB SONOTONE B ' All-Transistor HEARING AID WHAT IS IT? In simple terms the Sonotone transistor Hearing Aid Js a very small perfectly engineered in strument. It is most economical to operate and easy to wear. The only thing that your friends could possibly notice about it is the marvelous change in your hearing and your entire per sonality. - V Medford' Oldest Hearing Aid Institution 18 . Years with Sonotone C. R. ADAMSON DISTRICT MANAGER 839 East Jackson Phone 2-5904 Your present car may win you $50.000 in Plymouth's $150,000 Lucky Motor Number Sweepstakes j 785 prizes-$150,ooo IN ALL! 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