Page 10 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1979 1 ALTERATIONS' IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF OLD TEXAS WHERE MOTHER TAUGHT DAUGHTER THE FINE ART OF SEWING — SO HELEN MARIE TAUGHT EDITH MARIE THE SECRETS OF SEWING AND ALTERATIONS. DON’T GIVE UP — WE LL MAKE IT FIT!” AT WELCH’S CLEANERS, WE xIOT ONLY SERVE AS AN EXCEL LENT DRY CLEANERS BUT WE SPECIALIZE IN ALTERING HARD TO FIT EVENING DRESSES, TAPERED, SHIRTS, JEAN HEMS, WATCH POCKETS. ETC. (WE’RE JUST A FEW BLOCKS NORTH OF FED MART.) WELCH’S CLEANERS 3819 E. 29th (TOWN & COUNTRY SHOPPING CENTER) ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ HATE DOING LAUNDRY? Let Frannie's do it for you Aunt Frannies Laundromat AHolleman at Anderson 693-658 GAYLINE SPONSORED by GAY STUDENT SERVICES 693-1630 Monday through Thursday 8:00-10:00 Information & Referral Counseling Farmland like this, which is near the Brazos River, is being bought by foreign investors. National and state governments are studying the effects of foreign land investments. Texas ranks second in the nation in the amount of ment within its borders ^ Battalion photo by Lee Called ‘unfair competition^ Foreign land buying question By KEVIN D. HIGGINBOTHAM Battalion Reporter The issue of foreigners buying land in the United States and Texas for investment is charged with many emotional accusations, including as sertions that the foreign activity is causing “unfair competition” and “increased land prices.” Bill Lesher, an economist for Sen. Herman Talmadge, D-Ga., said the current concern over foreign in vestment activity in the United States began about 14 months ago during the farmers’ movement. A study undertaken for Talmadge showed that in the 18-month period between Jan. 1, 1977, and June 30, 1978, foreign investors purchased 826,543 acres of U.S. farmland. This figure represents about 2.25 percent of all transactions taking place dur ing that period, Lesher said. Texas, ranked second in the na tion in the amount of foreign in vestment within its boundaries, has already begun to explore pos sibilities of the foreign investment question. Two bills, one requiring full dis- OPEN MON.-FRI. 9:30-9:30SAT. 9:00A.M.-9:30P.M. WED. THRU SAT. SALE HOUSEWARE Our Reg. 64 1 Plastic laundry bas ket, pail, dishpan, ___ bin, colander, more FOR 2700 TEXAS AVE. r SOUTH closure of foreign investors’ holdings in the state, and another making it illegal for a nonresident alien to own Texas agricultural land, were intro duced in the Texas Legislature ear lier this year. The bills have since been revised and compiled into one comprehen sive bill which is now in the Calen dar Committee awaiting a date for its vote. The terms of the bill are simple: “No foreign person shall hereafter acquire directly or indirectly any interest in agricultural land unless he be a permanent resident alien of the United States or unless at least 80 percent of each class of stock is sued and outstanding or 80 percent of the ultimate beneficial interest of such entity is held directly or indi rectly by citizens of the United States or permanent resident aliens.” The bill requires that any foreign investor found in violation of this provision divest himself of the prop erty within one year after receiving notice of his violation. If it is not done voluntarily, the bill gives county officials the authority to hold a public sale of the land involved. Foreign investors who own ag ricultural land prior to the enact ment of the bill are required to file a report with the commissioner of ag riculture fully documenting the ownership. This must be done within 90 days after the bill’s effec tive date, and then yearly after wards throughout the foreigner’s ownership of the property. Any foreign investor who fails to file this report, or who files a report containing false or misleading in formation, is subject to a civil pen alty of not more than $10,000. Rep. Dan Kubiak, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the bill has a broad base of support from many Texas farm groups such as the Farmer’s hat Ik exas lolleg' Exce Weis anily I IT ieston ien ns. Fort Union and the Americanij raz° s tural Union. jly t( Dr. Ronald Knutson, jj iougl A&M University economist ie|ej cently testified before W ig a committee on the ex-owned id r the state and on the effectstt< [ Alth posed foreign investmentlejiii could have on the Texaseeorj iftb Much of his concern wasi his a the fact that much of thee: weigr foreign investment is current ras i ulated hy federal tax treaties,! hoosi could overrule any state legisi Twc that doesn’t take them into a lave ( The revised version of H feme bill does take these treatiesiri urch; count and therefore should(n he ar no problem. tor, tk “The real villains are th^Hk ers — those guys sellingitto Kl 161 at such high prices,” he said, 1 ^ Knutson s testimony befoi! House committee citedsn >l aC(l problems relating to theresti ® n,s of foreign investment in thel F e 1 States. “Prohibiting owners lifP® 111 foreign investors... would tali! from current farmland own# right to sell to the highesthi Knutson said. “One of the potential di from foreign investor resiricl that foreign countries mi| taliate hy placing similar rest on U.S. investment in foreij In 1976 the book value ofal investments abroad was If lion. Foreign investment United States totaled $30hi Kubiak said his bill is i aimed at the absentee or m I dent foreign investor who is|i | tax advantages over his d( counterpart. Absentee foreign investdij rently are not taxed forcapitil received when they sell thfiil (j erty if they do not live in thel States more than 183 days l the year. |Y, State i don’t ping lave I The A ell 111C-1 a lilt? yt?