Tuesday, December 6, 1983/The Battalion/Page 7
Lawyer pans attempts
to commute sentences
Greg Malatek, from Gonzales and Mollie
Morris from Huntsville, sit in the warm sun
waiting for their bus by the Reed McDonald
ourt sidesteps tax issue
■uhural esj
nhibii fo®!
:e farm iii
eign cusMJ
U.S. baln*i :
is (and)fo4
itau’ve re<#
bureau i
r atradeei:«
vere imp®!
jnal $ecu4
y reasons,!
o all trade '"
hanges
should lia'i|
igress,
iolution
nt of an»
ram whick'i
ben Carry - ®® United Press International
,r feed prfWASHINGTON — The Sup-
nttoSpenfeme Court, rejecting pleas
nilizatiom from 11 nations, refused Mon
arm Buresmy to enter a multimillion-
Dort feden|ollar dispute over how Califor-
irantee fa nia taxes subsidaries of foreign
ir comnn corporations operating in the
ublic wart state.
e warehoi# The decision leaves intact a
atcy. ‘‘unitary tax” system in Califor-
agriculturiBa, which takes into account the
re treatedi international profits of multina-
zhen handl Sonal firms instead of income
atcy, the generated in the state alone and
nendedik generally means international
cers bejjitf firms pay more taxes in the state.
jistributsolB The court turned down an
gricultural appeal by Shell Petroleum N.V.
ar bankrup of the Netherlands who asked it
j to consider whether foreign na-
..-ijj bons may challenge the right of
, . state tax officials to consider the
tentate taw rldwi( ! e P roflts of a foreign
ition i' cor P orat * on * n assessing taxes on
‘ : a subsidiary doing business in
in 8 c | The problem, which has
jjawn the ire of foreign-based
ttlultinational corpcarations, now
36(1 P l )ein g studied ^ a P res i denda f
c . ■nimission to determine if the
•ing rCf s|tte is interfering with interna-
t|nal treaty obligations.
■ In other business-related ac
tion, the court:
■ •Refused to decide whether
the federal Racketeer Influ-
Bced and Corrupt Organiza
tions Act (RICO) allows com
ics to be sued for triple dam-
jes in business fraud cases. The
eal, brought by Prudential
urance Co. against 400 resi-
jtits of a retirement commun-
1 located near Kansas City, said
h stiff penalties should not be
(owed for “garden variety civil
prepresentation.”
In the unitary tax case, the
tices spurned the arguments
■nine European nations, Japan
*nd Canada by refusing to hear
% dispute over California’s tax
Warm, lazy afternoons
John Makely, Battalion staff
building. The warmth was shortlived however,
as the temperature dropped into the low 40s
last night.
Other states with a unitary
tax are Alaska, Colorado, Idaho,
Massachusetts, Montana, New
Hampshire, North Dakota, Ore
gon, Utah and Nebraska.
Because the overseas profits
of a company are often greater
than those earned in the United
States, the taxes assessed to the
domestic subsidiary are usually
greater than if the tax was asses
sed to only the domestic profits.
California decided to use the
unitary method of taxation be
cause it is often difficult to deter
mine what percentage of a com
pany’s total profits are earned in
the state.
The issue was brought to the
court by Shell, which has a sub
sidiary in California. A federal
judge ruled the foreign corpora
tion did not have the right to sue
in U.S. courts.
Shell asked the Supreme
Court to give it the right to sue
California in federal court to
challenge the tax method as un
constitutional and as a violation
of a commerce treaty between
the United States and the
Netherlands.
Shell sued the Califoria tax
board in November 1981,
v?!
charging the state assessed f 35.6
million additional taxes in 1977
after recomputing its liability us
ing the unitary, worldwide
method.
) 7:
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL
2AE ACACIA
dispute i
Methods. The U.S. government
«as not taken a position on the
controversy.
Last term, the Supreme
urt authorized the use of the
method to tax the in
come Of U.S. corporations with
subsidiaries overseas, but the
Question of using the method to
to foreign corporations is more
difficult because of treaties
Signed with other governments
to promote international trade.
■The dispute has far-reaching
SPECIAL duplications for economic rela-
r\/rii|i|j dons between the United States
'' and other industrial nations,
iccially in Europe, which has
|1 billion invested in the Un-
States.
California and 10 other states
—jtipute the tax liability of fore-
igt-owned businesses by taking
ercentage of the worldwide
fits of the company, rather
n a percentage of the profits
ned in the state.
:ey dp
with
< Sauce
Dressing
ead - M {:
irlea
3ravy
jice of anf
etable
©X
ATO
MEN'S
RUSH
1IKA
FIJI
ATA
K A
Invites YOU To A Spring Rush
INFORMATIONAL MEETING DECEMBER 7,
1983
AGGIELAND INN
6:00-8:00pm
Call for more info
Travis Erwin 764-7570 Greg Simonsen 693-6504
United Press International
SAN ANTONIO — District
Attorney Sam Millsap Monday
called deplorable attempts by
the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles to commute the life sent
ences of three habitual cri
minals.
The parole board is seeking
sentence commutations from
Gov. Mark White that would
make the three felons eligible
for almost immediate parole,
Millsap said.
The three Texas Department
of Corrections inmates —
Andrew R. Carrizales, Jose Jesse
Martinez, and Jessie Frank
Montoya — were convicted as
habitual criminals in Bexar
County and sentenced to life
terms.
However, the state legislature
revised the habitual criminal sta
tute in the last session, permit-
Missing
shrimper
sought
United Press International
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND —
Coast Guard boats and planes
Monday searched Mexican wa
ters south of the mouth of the
Rio Grande for a shrimp boat
that radioed Sunday night that it
was sinking with three crewmen
aboard.
However, a Coast Guard
spokesman said there was no
evidence of a boat by the name
that the distress call gave and
that the S.O.S. possibly was a
hoax.
The radio caller said the boat
was the “Sentaya” out of Port
Isabel, but the spokesman said
the harbormaster and several
shrimping firms contacted had
not heard a boat by that name.
“Even if it was a hoax, we still
hae to assume it’s a real call,” the
Coast Guard spokesman said.
He said the boat gave a posi
tion 12 to 15 miles off the Mex
ican coast south of the U.S.-
Mexico border.
The Coast Guard sent a boat
to the area after the 8:30 p.m.
Sunday call was received, then
sent another boat and began an
air search Monday.
(«l‘
IS BEST ON HARWOOD
STHTimS
TOP QUALITY ESCORTED
CO-ED FUN GROUPS
16-41 Days
4-11 Countries
From $1295 plus air
Nationally Acclaimed
Since 1959
See Your Travel
Agent or Write:
■ 2428 GUADALUPE ^
| AUSTIN, TX 78705 TtPMrrf
ting sentence variations between
25 years and life. White then in
structed the parole board to re
view the cases of non-violent cri
minals for possible sentence
commutation.
“It indicates the breakdown
of the penal system,” Millsap
said of the new policy. “The
board now takes the position
that these sentences should be
second guessed.”
Millsap called such steps to
reduce prison overcrowding
“deplorable.”
The sentence commutations
recommened for the three men,
along with the time they have
already served, would make
them elgible for parole almost
immediately, he said.
“We are not talking about
people who have committed
minor crimes,” Millsap said.
“They committed drug offenses
and multiple burglaries. People
who have been convicted of a
felony three times have proven
they no longer have the right to
walk among us.”
Millsap said he would oppose
the board’s attempts to com
mute the sentences.
jpoooooeoooooosoocooo^
PIANO LESSONS ij
| GUITAR LESSONS b
J MASTERS DEGREE 8
1
•8
Music Ed, North Texas State O
Elementary and College^
Teaching
Experience. Enrolling foi
Spring
Term. Adjacent to Campus.
B. ANDREWS
693-2954
xsobh
Never buy
another
car.
Most drivers save money by leasing
instead of buying'. You could save
thousands of dollars over the life of
your next car. Test-drive our lease.
You’ll never buy again.
BENCHMARK
CEASING, INC.
511 University Drive East
College Station/260-9860
HUMANA HOSPITAL
Bryan/College Station
Has the following positions
available:
Full Time R.N. - Relief Supervisor
11:00pm - 7:00am Shift
Pool Nurses for Medical Surgical
Unit
ICU/CCU
Licensed Physical Therapist
CONTACT PERSONNEL
775-4200
Equal Opportunity Employer
CITY.
STATE.
Presents
14kt ADD-A-BEAD CHAINS
Heavy wt 14kt
50%
14kt Gold Add A Bead
Reg
3mm -
4mm -
5mm -
6mm -
7mm -
0.790
$1.29
$2.19
$3.29
$4.29
OFF
Sale
0.400
0.650
$1.10
$1.65
$2.15
OPEN UNTIL 8:00
50% off entire stock until Christmas
415 University
846-5816