European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                February 1978 the stars and stripes Page 19 consumer watch by Mary Neth gain the military Man serving Over seas is the that earned income credit headlined in red on Page two of the 1977 Federal 1040 a income tax Booklet excludes him if his family is with him 1 the earned income credit entitles those who qualify Baa special payment or credit of up to i to qualify the taxpayer must have an adjusted income of less than in 1977 Many Ess and Are in this the taxpayer must also paid More than half the Cost of keeping up a Home in which you lived and which for the entire year i except for temporary absences for was also the Home of 1 your child who was under the age or 19 years of age or a full time Lor 2 your dependent child who is i it is this keeping up a Home requirement which Idenia the Bennie to Many members of the armed i forces who might otherwise be i when the question do came up about the i status of the Serviceman overseas in relation to it the income Daniel assistant reve me service representative at toe embassy i in questioned toe internal Revenue service 1 to the which reports that in has received Many inquiries about the answered As Fol Section 43 of the tax c 1 b requires the individual to maintain a household in the which is his principal place of abode and the principal palce of abode of a child of that therefore it has been concluded that a serv iceman stationed outside the whose child u living outside the would be unable to of the military taxpayers family remains in the the taxpayer May be eligible for the this is because Seton 43 of the internal Revenue code refers to Section 214 b 3 for the definition of maintains a and the regulations under Section 214 provide that an individual will not be considered to Nave terminated a household As his Princi pal place of abode merely by reason of temporary absences by reason of education or Mili tary it would have been Nice to have received that said one e5 with four years of service and an adjusted Gross income income of about he Fig ures that is the amount he would have received i negative income tax were u not for the fact that his wife and two children Are in Europe with its difficult to figure exactly How Many Mem Bers of the forces overseas will miss out on this income lax but it hat been estimated that about 70 percent of the military personnel to Europe Are la the lowest five enlisted about a third of them Are these figures came out of a staff study Mil together by Ronald chief of the social work service of 2nd general Hospital at urging approval of food Stamps for overseas the income tax credit would have been a help to  Lowe income families living in european Economy they have been particularly hardhat by the loss of the value of the Dollar and often have difficulties making ends in for a 450mariaamonth apartment Means an outlay of about at the cur rent rate of there Are other that have to be paid in Public transportation by having had his family overseas with him during the past year he will not be Able to apply far that earned income and phone for telephones Are often a must for men living off Post and costs run close to tis a month plus a charge for every Call that is this comes on lop of a s90 installation in a december report on the effect the Dollar plunge was having on the stars and stripes projects editor Bill Walker found that a number of servicemen were thinking of sending their families Home because it was becoming impossible financially to maintain households in for level Dundy who lives in Bam Borg with his 18yearold wife and 17monthold stated that if the Dollar keeps going i dont think 1 can keep my family with Dundy has to face the fact that by having Hadlis family overseas with him during the past year be will not be Able to apply for thai earned income because you Are serving your country you Are being excluded from a Benefit open to fellow americans of the same said a disgruntled that just Doest seem very fair at taxes the no payers by Lee it Tang associated press her1can taxpayers pay 115 billion a year in l extra property taxes about 1300 a family because a growing number of their neighbors pay 1 about on third of americas real estate is and that property is Worth More than i according to the advisory commission on Lye Junental i governments determine How much property tax in be collected each year and then Divide that Burden g available property what one property r it excused from pay someone else must ions an granted Tor churches and nonprofit i in All so Stales and thirty i Stales exempt parsonage and University 34 t Yucas and ymhas31 Veteran organi 24 exempt fraternal organizations like us cuts i and 10 states exempt Tabor and or ties i Oren Barons to name just a few groups that commonly receive favored i i wac theres Public awareness of lost Back property says John exemptions every Yean some such As Wyoming and contain vast amounts of Federal which is constitutionally exempt from local Bat gome laterally owned suck As military pay their Way by generating local employ ment and the Federal government Diibon i about Al billion a year to local governments on Hud and buildings Worth More Asulo people Dontia that less than state keep records the amount of property Inual i tax exempt Rolls Are rapidly everywhere in Many states even to the growth of the value of All real author of the Book the free sat 1 that about two thirds of the value of exempt prop droid by and the rest by private emd welfare groups probably own less prop e estimated Leto Buzon of religious organza believed to be the fastest Browing toe 1178 census statistics for it states educational organizations hold first place the tax exempt percentage of tax exempt property int Neces nor is a Low percentage a sign that Trou exist i the Many variables that can tip the balance 1 include How much free service a Day has some states like North Dakota and Wyoming have High percentages tax exempt Charita ble and educational property but also have relatively Low lax so citizens dont really feel any i some cities including Milwaukee and Pitts Burgh have worked out arrangements with tax exempt organizations providing for annual service charges or special taxes that make up for some of the lost and some universities with vast tax exempt real estate like Harvard University in Northwestern University in or the univer sity of Michigan which owns an Airport outside Ann have agreed to make voluntary annual payments to local thirty six stale governments either make some form of i Adieu payments to local governments for stat owned land or or else allow Dales to tax slate proper the remaining h states forbid but us aha Skinaw says Payne nos by state to private tax exempt Ynasita Taos to local put Roseau often Minnel to Snail handouts that dont to solve local tax exempt the trouble with tax exemptions really starts in titles or Stales that have High taxes and High concentrations of tax exempt an a Survey of some of the largest cities showed Angeles and Houston relatively free of White the older Industrial cities like Philadel most of All new York have seen relatively rapid growth of exemptions in recent to the tax free property on the other t economic activity the tax exempt organization areas thus May pose the biggest problems for several the aide and elderly tend to live in and thus Many kinds of tax exempt Organ salons like hospitals and veterans organizations Are also located in Urban in Large cities As service centers Are he natural place for Many la exempt Orga the big Central cities in the Northeast Are especially hard Over the years exemptions Are usually by state and the City loses the Shannon and nowhere do the problems seem worse than in in nations most taxed new Marshall chairman of the new York Oty tax says that j2s billion Worth of the cites escapes taxes each in the past several the tax commission has lifted longstanding exemptions on seven private including the rehearsal club which provides inexpensive housing for Young it has also dented exemptions to the unification headed by the South korean Sun Myung the Day has also been trying to crack Down on Hospi such As Roosevelt which own tax exempt parking Lota that charge commercial or which buy apartment buildings and permit doctors to carry on Pri vate practice in weve been trying wherever we can to lighten but its a very difficult everyone who comes to us for an exemption has a very heartrending Story on Bow there being driven out of the new Yorks Kaplan even in Kaplan opinion and the opinion of Many other assessing officers across the ill that attempts to close loopholes Are frequently beaten Back i and state Legislatures generally find it politically easier u Grant new exemptions than to remove old