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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1987)
Texas A&MW-* m m V • The Battalion [Vol. 82 INo. 138 USPS 045360 8 pages College Station, Texas Friday, April 17, 1987 rganization seeks records of A&M lobby group By Frank Smith Senior Staff Writer I Texas A&M’s newly reorganized chapter If the Young Conservatives of Texas has p-quested a look at the financial records of a ibbby group affiliated with Student Gov- Irnment, to see if the group has used any Student service fee money. I Dennis Rudder, chairman of A&M’s ICT, said his organization wants to see the |986-87 financial records of the Legislative Study Group, a branch of Student Govern- inient that researches higher education is sues and lobbies the Legislature. I “(The records are) going to be used by jpui' state office in making sure things are being run right,” Rudder said. Alan Moore, LSG director, said his group plans to comply with the request. “This is public record, so they’re more than entitled to look at it,” he said. The YCT’s University of Texas chapter filed a lawsuit in November 1985 against Attorney General Jim Mattox and the presi dents ol UT and the UT Students’ Associa tion, saying the Students’ Association ille gally spent student service fee money in buying advertising space for political en dorsements in the Daily Texan, UT’s stu dent newspaper. The matter was settled out of court in January. At A&M, the request for records was made by Rudder and YCT Vice Chairman Richard Lonquist in a March 31 letter to Dr. Carolyn Adair, director of student activ ities. The letter cited the legal accessibility of the records to the public under the Texas Open Records Act. Adair referred them to Mark Browning, an LSG member who also serves as comp troller for Student Government. Browning on Wednesday said he has been compiling the records and that he, along with Moore and Adair, would like to meet with YCT leaders when the records are turned over. Browning said he thinks YCT may be as suming the LSG operates the same way as the Texas Student Lobby, the UT student lobby group whose use of student service fees spurred the 1985 lawsuit. “LSG feels they (YCT) don’t quite under stand we’re not like the TSL,” Browning said. “They (TSL) were making political contributions. . . . We just think it’s a misun derstanding and hope it can be worked out.” Moore was quoted in the March 27 issue of The Battalion as saying LSG is privately funded and non-partisan. He also said LSG had reimbursed Stu dent Government for all costs incurred during the year that might be tied to stu dent service fees. Rudder, in a brief telephone interview Wednesday, cited that article. “If everything has been taken care of with the funds, then there’s no reason for us to file suit like we did with the University of Texas,” he said. “We just want to make sure things are being done as the paper re ported and as the people are telling us.” State Sen. Kent Caperton, D-Bryan, was successful last week in adding an amend ment to the Senate appropriations bill that would allow elected student governments at public universities to use student service fees in lobbying efforts, a measure LSG supports. No such amendment has yet been pro posed in the House of Representatives, but LSG officials say one is expected. Reagan hopes for agreement about missiles President remains optimistic about meeting with Soviets tachelor No. 1 Buca Prudhomme of Kappa Kappa Gamma asks questions of Jeff Eli- ? sh;i, left, of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Thomas DiSalvio of Squadron 10 and Chris Davis of Sigma Alpha Mu during the Aggie Dating Game Photo by Chris Lane Thursday night in Rudder Auditorium. The event was sponsored by Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon to benefit the Muscular Dystro phy Association and Twin City Mission Inc. in Bryan. eagan to announce U.S. trade tariffs n Japan in retaliation for violations 'JEW YORK (AP) — The United States was expected to slap steep tar iffs on a grab-bag of Japanese im- bons today as part of what interna- Itional business executives call the post serious trade conflict between the economic powers since Japan’s Ipostuar reconstruction. igNevertheless, the executives said iprospects remain remote for the ianctions escalating into a trade war, Park because Japanese officials bow their nation could not afford one. ■‘My personal opinion is the Japa- Ksc are smart enough to under hand this problem,” said Sam Kusu- moto, president of Minolta Corp., maker of cameras and copiers. “They are deeply concerned that any confrontation with the United States is very detrimental to the Jap anese.” President Reagan was expected to announce the tariffs today in retalia tion for alleged Japanese violation of a 1986 agreement to open its home market to American-made computer chips and to avoid “dumping” chips at unfairly low costs in other coun tries. But trade experts say chips are only one factor in the tariffs. U.S. of ficials are exasperated with Japan’s persistent trade surplus, relatively dosed market and failure to stimu late its economy to absorb more of the world’s exports. “We jeopardize both our friendship and the future of the world economy unless we can adapt to changing economic realities,” Treasury Secretary James Baker said Wednesday in an unusually blunt speech to a Japanese and American audience at the Japan So ciety in New York. Japan, denying violation of the chip accord, says the tariffs violate international trading rules and an nounced Thursday it would appeal for relief to GATT, the international trading body in Geneva, Switzer land. The tariffs are expected to have little economic effect on Japan be cause they cover just $300 million worth of goods — amounting to less than 1 percent of the $58 billion trade imbalance between the nations last year. The tariffs mark one of the first times the United States has singled out Japan for sanctions instead of agreeing to compromise. The Japanese seem to be seeking compromise and delay rather than confrontation. SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — President Reagan said Thursday that he is optimistic about reaching an agreement this year to limit U.S. and Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles but that there must be a “substantial agreement” ready for signature before a summit can be held. “We’ve narrowed the gap a little more,” the president said after meet ing for more than an hour with Sec retary of State George P. Shultz at Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo. Shultz briefed the president about the Kremlin proposal to eliminate U.S. and Soviet medium-range mis siles from Europe. The secretary flew to California after meeting in Brussels with NATO allies following three days of talks with Soviet lead ers in Moscow. Reagan said the Soviet proposal would be thoroughly discussed with America’s West European allies. “It’s clear to me . . . the visit was very useful,” Reagan said, in a brief statement to reporters after his meeting with Shultz. “I look forward and am hopeful that we can have a summit, but it must be one carefully planned and prepared, and there must be some thing that we can agree on,” Reagan 1 said. The president added that there would “nave to be some substantial agreement that would make it worthwhile to have a summit.” Shultz arrived at Reagan’s ranch about 7:30 p.m. CST. As they posed for pictures, Shultz was asked if he had obtained any sort of commitment by th Soviets to attend a summit in this courtry later this year. He replied, “I’m going to discuss that with the president.” Shultz left foreign ministers from nine North Atlantic Treaty Organi zation countries behind in Brussels \RS creotes W-4A to cut through confusion I New tax form simplifies filing process to ponder whether the Soviet propo sal should be accepted. It would mean the elimination of about 50 shorter-range Soviet nu clear missiles in East Germany a? Czechoslovakia, and also could volve the dismantling of about other Scaleboard and Spider missiles in the Soviet Union. Soviet Leader Mikhail S. Gorba chev offered to include those weap ons, which have a range of 350 to 600 miles, in a treaty to scrap me dium-range U.S. and Soviet nuclear missiles except for 100 warheads on each side. By offering to eliminate the shorter-range missiles in East Ger many and Czechoslovakia — and “I look forward and am hopeful that we can have a summit, but it must be one carefully planned and prepared and there must be something that we can agree on. ” — President Ronald Reagan those in the Soviet Union over a year’s time, as well, if details can be worked out — the Soviets are caus ing NATO to re-evaluate the alli ance’s nuclear capability. Not only would U.S. Pershing II and cruise missiles, with a range of 600 to 3,000 miles, be withdrawn, but the United States would not be able to deploy new or modified shorter-range rockets if all of the So viets’ are withdrawn as well. Shultz stopped short of specif ically endorsing the Soviet proposal at a news conference in Brussels af ter explaining it to the NATO for eign ministers behind closed doors. The ministers represented Brit ain, Canada, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain. Shultz told reporters “we have the prospect for a good INF (Interme diate-range Nuclear Forces) agreement and we have the basic el ements in place.” By Christi Daugherty Staff Writer ■Remember the old Coke, New Ifoke, Coke Classic fiasco? If so, |theii vou’ll notice something famil iar about the Internal Revenue Per. i< e’s cur re t situation. ■We’11 call it Hie old W-4, New W- 4|W-4A Classk situation, which by its very nature was considerably Pou severe than the problems of the soft-drink company, because whi n the IRS has a problem, it con ceivably affects almost every Ameri- ■ can wage-earner. ■Hie problem started when the H Congress developed and the idea of tax reform, and itsuowballed from there. ■.Bob Branson, IRS public affairs ; officer in Austin, said the IRS did phat it was supposed to do, but ■ngress didn’t know what it was Setting itself into. ■Congress told the IRS that too tnany people get refunds, and too ijany people are over-withheld, so you design a withholding system Mia s accurate,’ ” Branson said. “So |he IRS designed a new withhold- mg certificate intended to be more accurate, as Congress wanted, be cause the old didn’t take into ac count a whole lot more stuff, it just asked how many dependents —and there you were. “We did what we were supposed to do — we became more accurate. Unfortunately, nobody could fill out our form,” Branson said. The new W-4As are a response to the veritable explosion of dis pleasure over the diffculty of the instructions, he said, and those have been condensed down from four pages to one page — front and back — but the page actually sub mitted is identical to the old new W- 4. “We figure that 45 million tax payers will need to use only the front page — they won’t even flip to the back (where the instructions for itemized deductions and filing jointly are located),” Branson said. “And therefore they’ll avoid that added confusion.” But in becoming more simple, he said, the form becomes slightly less accurate than its predecessor, the new W-4. It doesn’t take into account sub stantial non-wage income, like stock dividends or the interest from large bank accounts, he said. But even so, the form is considerably more accu rate than the old W-4, he said. Dr. Lorence Bravenec, an A&M accounting professor, said he had not filled out the new W-4A but. ‘'These (new tax forms) are perhaps not as easy as people would like, but ifs probably as easy as (the IRS) can make it. ” — Alfred Martin, Bryan accounting firm member “the old (new) W-4 was just impossi ble to work with.” He agreed with Branson that the front of the form, which contains seven lines with instructions for fig uring withholding allowances, is considerably easier than the more complicated deduction instructions on the back. “It’s simpler, except the problem with this form is that the worksheet is on the back; you have to know what they’re driving at. If you don’t know that, you’re lost,” Bravenec said. An example of the simpler in structions on the front of the page: A. Enter a “1” for yourself if no one else can claim you as a depen dent. C. Enter “1” for your spouse if no one else claims your spouse as a dependent. An example of the deduction in structions: 4. Enter an estimate of your 1987 adjustments to income. These in clude alimony paid and deductible IRA contributions. 8. Divide the amount on line 7 by $2,000 and enter the result here. Drop any fraction. Line 8 causes the most apparent confusion, as it seems a rather pointless action that Branson de scribed as “one of those algebraic things.” And even Bravenec had to work at it before he could figure it out. But what it is, he decided, is a way to equate itemized deductions with tax exemptions. In that, $2,000 worth of itemized deduc tions in excess of standard deduc tions is equal to approximately one withholding exemption. Got it? No problem. Alfred Martin, with the Martin, Thompson & Amos PC accounting firm in Bryan, said the new forms are infinitely better than the old, and perhaps are the best that can be expected. Martin added that, in general, most people should be able to fill out these forms without much help. “If they can read, they can fill it out,” Martin said. He said he felt the IRS blun dered with the first revision but has made an admirable recovery with the W-4As. “I think some change in the W-4s was necessary, but they made a rather unhealthy stab at it the first time,” Martin said. “But tax laws are so complicated it’s hard to make these forms simpler. “These are perhaps not as easy as people would like, but it’s probably as easy as they can make it.” Ring orders to be taken until April 24 The deadline for ordering class rings for the spring semester is 4 p.m. April 24. If eligibility information has not already been submitted for verification, students should give the information to the Ring Of fice, 119 Pavilion by Monday. Students using mid-term grades to meet the required 92 hours should also submit a mid term grade report. Students are required to pay the total cost of the ring by cash or check when they order. Summer ring orders will begin May 4 for students who meet re quirements. Students who meet requirements at the end of the spring semester can order their rings after final grades are posted.