Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1960)
(Dividends, Skh Pay Are Among items To lEe Reported on Form (Editor's note: This is the fifth and final dispatch on how to pay your Federal income taxes) By EDWARD COWAN United Press International Washington-fliPD-Dividends, sick pay, pensions, savings bonds . . . Reporting these on your income tax return re quires knowledge of a few special rules. Like all other forms of in come, dividends and interest must be reported on your tax return. Lots of people do not know this, or conveniently forget it. The Internal Rev enue Service estimates that last year some five billion dollars of dividends and in terest went unreported and Uncle Sam lost about $500 million in taxes. To get people to pay taxes on dividends and interest, the IRS is making a special ef fort to remind people they are taxable. Commissioner Dana Latham has also prom ised that tax agents around the country will be checking individual returns more close' ly for dividends and inter est. . Interest All interest re ceived or credited to your sav ings or building and loan ac count is taxable like ordinary income, even though it is not I Opportunity Days Still going on at your volume dealer COURTESY CHEVROLET 9th & Bartlert Medford See Our Ad in Classified actually withdrawn from the bank. Dividends-The first $50 of dividends you receive during the tax year are not taxable. In addition, you may take a credit against your tax of up to 4 per cent of dividends above $50. Generally speaking, this rule applies to dividends paid on the common and preferred stocks of fully taxable U.S. corporations. They do not ap ply to so called "dividends" paid by savings bank and sim ilar institutions. These "divi dends" are actually taxable interest. Dividends on life in surance policies are not con sidered income for tax pur poses. Here are examples of how the dividend rule works: A taxpayer received $25 in dividends last year. He re ports this income but does not include it on his taxable income because it is less than the $50 exclusion. A stockholder received $90 of dividends from his shares. He reports the $90, excludes the first $50 from his taxable income and pays tax on the remaining $40. But he then may take 4 per cent of the $40 as a credit against his tax bill, thereby reducing it by $1.60. A husband and wife filing jointly may not combine the $50 exclusion but may take two separate ones. Suppose he had dividends of $60 and she received $40. He reports the $60, pays tax on only $10 and takes 4 per cent of $10 as a credit. Her $40 of divi dends is reported but exclud ed. Her $10 of unused allow ance may not be used against the husband's dividends. U.S. Savings Bonds If you own U.S. savings bonds, you may report the interest each year or defer reporting until the bonds are matured or cashed. On an E bond, the in terest is the difference be tween the purchase price and the bond's present cash val ue. Once you elect to report the interest each year, you must continue to do so for all bonds owned and those subsequent ly acquired. You may not abandon annual reporting un less you first received per mission from the IRS. Sick Pay-You may deduct up to $100 a week for sick pay under certain conditions. If you were sick at home for more than seven consecu tive days, the pay you receiv ed starting with the eighth day may be excluded from your income. You may deduct one-fifth of your weekly pay (but not more than $20) for each day missed if you are on a five-day week; one-sixth (but not more than $16.67) if you work a six-day week. You may deduct sick pay starting with the first day if you were away from the job because of injury, no matter where suffered, or if your ill ness caused you to be a hos pital patient for at least one day. Again, you may not de duct more than $100 a week. If you claim sick pay de ductions, be sure to attach form 2440 to your return to support the claim. This form can be obtained at your near est Internal Revenue Service office. Retirement income-Certain kinds of income are not tax able and need not be report ed. They include Social Se curity benefits, Railroad Re tirement Act pensions, veter ans pensions, benefits to fam ilies of veterans, or payments for injury or sickness to mili tary personnel disabled in ac tive service. Some retirement income is only partly taxable. In gen eral, any contributions you made toward a pension dur ing the years you were work- What Are Chances Return Is Checked? Washington -QCPD- What are the chances that a Treasury agent will check your tax return? As far as arithmetic goes, every return is checked. It pays to go over your addi tion and subtraction an ex tra time before mailing your return. You can't tell whether a Treasury agent will dig into your return to see if you have omitted income, taken excessive deduction or made some other mis take, accidental or other wise. Returns get a full au dit on a random basis. The chance goes up with in come. Returns which are flagrantly fishy are more likely to get a going over. In 1958, the Revenue Serv ice examined about 1 in 50 of the short-form returns and about 1 in 21 of the long-form returns. The service says it will check about as many this year, but that agents also will be looking closely for reporting of dividends and interest. ing come back to you tax free. If your employer paid all of the costs of the pension system ,you are taxable for the payments as you receive them. However, if you paid taxes on the contributions as he was making them to your pension fund or if you paid part of the cost, you may now receive tax-free the portion you paid in or paid taxes on. Can Get Credit In some circumstances you can get a credit for part of the taxes you pay on retire ment income. The credit-an amount by which your tax bill is reduced-is 20 per cent of your retirement income up to $240 per person. To be eligible for this cred it, you must have reached 65 by the end of 1959, unless you were a civilian employee of federal, state or local gov ernment or a member of the Armed Forces, and are receiv ing income under a public retirement system. You (or your deceased spouse) also must have earned $600 a year in each of the 10 years prior to 1959. They need not have been consecutive years. If you are 65 or older, re tirement income for the pur pose of computing your tax credit includes your taxable income from pensions, annu ities, interest, dividends and rent. If you are under 65, the only retirement income on which you can get credit is that which comes from a pub lic retirement system. Regardless of your age, re tirement income does not in clude money you are now earning. O MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. A Friday, Jan. 29, 1 960 A DOG'S LIFE New York -flJPB- A total of $500 million will be spent on dogs in the U.S. this year on items ranging from pajamas and opera cloaks to reversible raincoats and lounging robes, according to the Quaker Oats Co., makers of dog food. The company also predicts that the poodle, the "clothes horse" of canine society, will be the country's most popular pure bred dog next year. RX EQUALS $ New York -(UPD- Approx imately 655 million medical prescriptions were filled in the U.S. last year at a total cost of about $1,600,000,000 according to industry esti mates. The average price of prescription drugs was $3.08 while "miracle drugs" cost about $4.40 each. LEONARD ELECTRIC CO. FBIGIDAIRE . . . rated No. I for all-around performance by U. S. Testing Co., Inc. D3 WS FRICIDAIRE AUTOMATIC WASHER proved best of 6 leading automatic washers in independent laboratory tests! The 1960 Frigidaire gets clothes cleaner, removes lint better, gets clothes dryer in spinning action, costs less to operate. Gives worry-free care of "Wash & Wear" garments, too! BOTH See our fine selection of "True Value" Trade-ins DS FRIGIDAIRE "WRINKLES AWAY" DRYER dries everything from delicate fabrics to dungarees safely and quickly! New Dual Cycle Selector provides timed settings for every type of fabric . . . plus a special 30-minute no heat cycle for fluffing and airing garments. New lint trap is handily located on the door. With your operating washer 5 yrs. eld or less. JUST $15.10 A MONTH AH guaranteed in good condition LE0E3ARD BUILT and BACKED by GENERAL MOTORS NO DOWN PAYMENT 0N SSST We Carry Our Own Contracts lEOTMGS m 309 EAST MAIN Q PHONE SP 2-4427 Medford's Leading Appliance Dealer for the Past 29 Years Statement Termed As 'Laughable' Portland -UPD- Democratic State Chairman Robert Straub today termed as "laughable" a recent statement that the Republican party has worked for labor's interests in Ore gon. Straub said State GOP Chairman Peter Gunnar and his public relations man "really strained to make a press release. Almost as hard as he has on his trivial at tacks against Senator Richard Neuberger." Straub cited the anti-pick-eting law he said was passed by a Republican - dominated Legislature and repealed by the Democratic - controlled 1 9 5 9 Legislature. He also charged Republican Legisla tures allowed industry lobby ists to "nearly wreck" the un employment insurance fund by lowering contribution rates. "I also might ask whose in terests Governor Mark Hat field was trying to serve when he vetoed the independent log truckers bill which would have permitted small log truckers to make a living," Straub added. VETERAN EXERCISE BOY Miami, Fla. (UPD - Pinky Browne has been an exercise boy for Ben Jones of Calumet Farm for 36 years. Small Worlds Around Us By Lynn M. Watkins Some Can Sleep Soundly Balanced on One Leg The sleeping habits of the wild things are often dictated by the necessity of the mo ment; some, of course, follow a regular pattern, seldom dev iating from the established habits of their kind; others may use considerable ingen uity or foresight in selecting a safe place. Sleeping while standing on one foot would seem to be about as difficult a way of relaxing as could be imagined, yet many of the shore birds do. - The great blue heron sleeps soundly while balanced on one leg. The flamingo does, too, and complicates it by hid ing its head under one wing at the same time. About the only time these creatures sit down is while incubating eggs. The perching birds sit down to sleep, holding onto a tree branch. Much more comfortable are the sleeping habits of sea gulls as well as most mem bers of the duck family. Along with the pelicans, most of these creatures sleep on the water, the . distance from shore giving them a cushion of safety from land predators. Many of th2se birds, while sound asleep, paddle occasion ally with one foot. This pro pels them slowly in a tight circle; it also holds them in position when a water cur rent is present. Usually too, many individuals gather in a group, or "raft," and sleep in a social gathering. Waterfowl 'Talk And, too, many waterfowl appear to maintain a close i contact with other members of the group by quietly bab bling in .their sleep as if con versing drowsily with one another. No more interesting sleep pattern could be exhibited1 than that of the quails. These little brown birds go to bed in a tight little circle, all heads pointing out, all tails pointing toward the center. Regardless of the direction from which an enemy might approach, one or more of the birds would be facing it and would be alarmed. If the enemy is near and flight is indicated, the entire circle "explodes," every indi vidual having an uncluttered path with no danger of col liding with a neighbor. Sea Creatures Differ In direct contrast to an established sleep pattern and location, where habit has in dicated survival is more or less assured, are the animals of the sea. Many of these are "homeless wanderers"; they must sleep wherever night o'ertakes them. The porpoise, for one, has the entire ocean for a bedroom. Most of the fish, too, are terribly short DISPOSAL UNIT Rutland, Vt. -(UPD When fireman Frank Walsh an swered an alarm at his own home, he learned the blaze was started when his daugh ter emptied an ash tray into a pair of shoes. of "home ties." To them "home, sweet home" is a mat ter of time rather than loca tion. (Released by The Register and Tribune Syndicate. 1960) To Our Rogue Valley Friends WE HAVE CHANGED OUR NAME The Medford Seed & Feed now doing business as ALBERS FEED & FARM SUPPLY Same fine quality feeds same courteous service same personnel Same location. 330 N.. FIR PHONE SP 3-4503 IMIIIWL IMIIfill " (" j ; I1)YiW7V7"?d)"lT( 1 1 roir'r'irin ad) j Announcing two NEW anniversary gasolines Royal 76 and 7600, the most powerfuf I premium and regular you can buy in the West. Drive in at the sign of the 76. Whether your car uses a premium or regular gasoline, you know youH get the Finest UNION OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA 1890-1960 Seventy years of quality leadership -Z3rf 1 4 jcy-y i i . ,-i H
