The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 06, 1985, Image 10

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    Life In Jesus
Spring Revival
March 4-6, 1985
BSU(behind Loupot’s)
Featuring: David George Arlington, TX
Kathy Baum Richardson,TX
7:30 p.m.
The College of Liberal Arts
Humanities Resources Group
Announces
' The Annual Humanities Lecture
Dr. William Bedford Clark
“Like Death and Dying:
The Humanities in a Technetronic Age’
Rudder Tower
Room 601
Wednesday, March 6
8 PM
Tommy’s
Second Annual
Pool Tournament
w/cash prizes
Every Wednesday night at 9 pm.
$1.00 Bar Drinks all night
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Goggles, coats, Bibs
Some 50% and more y .
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Page 10/The BattalionAVednesday, March 6,1985
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'
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Committee
votes to freeze
military budget
Associated Press
Deductions
/ //?S asks Congress not to repeal new tax low
WASHINGTON — The Republi
can-controlled Senate Budget Com
mittee, in a sharp rebuff to President
Reagan, voted tentatively Tuesday
in favor of a $79 billion reductionin
his military buildup over the next
three years.
On a bipartisan vote of 18-4, tht
committee proposed freezing de
fense spending authority at current
levels after adjusting for inflation
for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
That would he followed by after-in-
flation increases of 3 percent fot
each of the two subsequent years.
U.S
tov
off
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers
are claiming well over $3 billion a
year in excess tax benefits by over
stating deductions for business use
of automobiles, the Internal Reve
nue Service said Tuesday in urging
Congress not to repeal a new law re
quiring better recordkeeping.
But as IRS Commissioner Roscoe
L. Egger Jr. appealed to the House
Ways and Committee to support the
stiffer rules, nearly two dozen mem
bers of Congress testified repeal was
the only way to provide relief for pa
perwork-weary farmers and busi
nesspeople.
“Joe and Martha Six-pack should
not have to hold degrees in account
ing just to be able to file their taxes
properly,” said Rep. Thomas Bliley,
R-Va.
The Treasury Department
pledged to work with Congress to re
fine the disputed rules, which affect
as many as 30 million vehicles. And
Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill.,
chairman of the committee, cau
tioned against a headlong rush for
repeal.
While repeal would satisfy de
mands for simplicity, Rostenkowski
said, “It also raises serious doubts
about Congress’ resolve in pursuit
of’ overhaul of the tax system.
Egger said the old rules for prov
ing claimed business use of venicles
were widely abused. He cited a case
involving 937 employees of a big
corporation who were furnished
cars by the company and kept no re
cords of personal and business use
of the venicles. After auditing the
employees, the IRS last year de
manded additional taxes averaging
$846 per person — a total of
$800,000.
Until this year, the law required
only that a taxpayer keep adequate
records to support a deduction for
local (as opposed to away-from-
home) business use of a car or truck.
It did not specify the type of record,
so if the IRS challenged a deduction
it often was required to estimate
mileage by consulting an appoint
ment calendar or other records.
Last year, Congress ordered that
contemporaneous records be kept,
and the IRS issued regulations on
Jan. 25, 1985, explaining what was
expected. Three weeks later, the IRS
watered down those new regulations
in response to complaints from Con
gress and the public. But lawmakers
testifying Tuesday said those
changes are inadequate.
The action Tuesday was the firs
formal indication of tne widespread
dissatisfaction in Congress over th
president’s proposed fiscal 198i
nudget, which includes a $30billioi
increase in defense spending and
nearly $40 billion in cuts in domesti
programs.
Tne vote came a few hours aftti
Senate Majority Leader Robert Dolt
R-Kan., said the administrationmusl
Defense contract payments
to General Dynamics halted
be prepared to negotiate with Hons
and Senate leaders to get a “consen
sus” budget that will reduce fedcu
deficits.
White House spokesman Lam
Speakes said Reagan “stands squj
rely behind his budget.”
The vote on defense spendiiij
marked the beginning of the Budpi
Committee’s efforts to draft an alter
native to the president’s spendinj
blueprint
Tne Budget Committee consii
ered five plans, all of which would
have allowed defense spending
rise each year, but by less than tin
amount Reagan wants
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department sus
pended part of its huge annual payment to General Dy
namics Corp. on Tuesday, citing evidence that the larg
est U.S. defense contractor billed the government for
unauthorized expenses — such as caring for the com
pany’s pet dog.
Pentagon spokesman Michael I. Burch said “we
found that General Dynamics’ testimony was nauseat
ing” when the contractor tried to explain the problem
to Congress last week.
Burch said $35 million in monthly payments for ad
ministrative expenses would be halted for 30 days while
the department investigates whether General Dynamics
wrongly billed the government for advertising, enter
tainment and other unauthorized expenses.
He said that if the inquiry is not completed in 30
days, the suspension will continue.
Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, who an
nounced the decision in a speech to an American Le
gion convention, said “it came out in our audits that
they were billing us, as part of their overhead costs, a
lot of expenses that did not benefit the government.”
Among them, he said, were charges for “when a
company-owned dog was put in a kennel.” He did not
give details.
He said some billings “may have involved criminal
matters, and they are being.investigated by the Depart
ment of Justice.”
General Dynamics spokesman Peter K. Connolly said
that if the Pentagon investigation shows any wrong bil
lings, the company will return the money immediately.
Weinberger announced that in the future, all de
fense contractors would be required to certify, “under
penalty of perjury,” that their claims for payment do
not include expenses “not made directly for the benefit
of the government.”
The president has called for in
creases in defense spending author
ity of 5.9 percent after inflation r
1986, 8.2 percent in 1987 and Hi
percent in 1988.
The plan that won tentativect®
mittee approval, sponsored by Soj
Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., would hot
the increase far below the range pro
posed by Reagan.
In terms of actual estimate
spending, if Hollings’ proposal»eit
implemented by Congress, the Pei
tagon would have $10.9 billion let
in 1986 than Reagan proposed
$25.3 billion less in 1987 and $43l)i
lion less in 1988, according to G»
gressional Budget Office estimates
Sen. Dan Quayle, R-Ind., arguet
for after-inflation increases of 4jxr
cent a year, saying that “one ofth
reasons the Soviets are back at
‘negotiating’ table is because weha«
shown the willingness” to providt
for large defense increases in th
past.
Italian leader supports ‘Star Wars’ defense
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan won a qualified vote of sup
port but not a ringing endorsement
for his “Star Wars” space-based de
fense plan during talks Tuesday
with Italian Prime Minister Bettino
Craxi.
The president, praising Italy as
“an ally second to none,” said he and
Craxi did agree on the “potential
benefits” of the proposal and the
need for NATO solidarity in light of
arms negotiations beginning in Ge
neva next week.
The Italian leader called the talks
“fruitful” and said they convinced
him that “the basic goals of United
States policy remain defense and
peace based on a balance of forces.”
Craxi added that Reagan “has as
sured me that these same goals will
be pursued” through the president’s
Strategic Defense Initiative — the
formal name for the Star Wars plan.
He added that the two countries
“will draw mutual advantages in the
scientific and technological field”
from research into the futuristic de
fense, but he sidestepped a ftl
fledged endorsement of the plan.
U.S. officials were anxious toai
any worries Craxi might have haii
about such a defense system. Itisnfl
an allied project, and some NATO
leaders have expressed concern thi
it would cause America to shift itsffr
cus from a defense of European nt
tions.
G v
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