European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Up up and away but flier beware by Randolph e. Schmid associated press Ince airline deregulation in the United slates became Law a decade ago some fares have been Cul and i lights have been added la major cities. But the average passenger also has less help in coping with travel problems the civil aeronautics Board that formerly watched Oul Lor passengers1 interests is no More and White its functions were switched to other agencies consumer Protection is less visible than in years past. Buying an airline ticket today in the United slates amounts to signing a contract Between the passenger and the airline 6olh have rights and responsibilities. Knowing about those terms is important Lor passengers and the airline consumer action project one of the Public interest groups founded by Ralph Nader has prepared a Booklet to help. Fads & advice Lor airline passengers can be obtained for $2 by wiling to aviation consumer action project . Box 19029, Washington , 20036. The government too has a pamphlet for fliers entitled Fry rights which costs $1 from the consumer information Center Pueblo Colo. 81009. Order Booklet 156t. Air Lares can be confusing with changes being made constantly on . Domestic flights and promotional tickets with Tower prices and Many restrictions being advertised. Travel agents abroad Are rarely familiar with the latest Price information regarding flights within the United states. A with any Purchase gelling the Best Price generally Means shopping around. Find out which airlines Fly where you want to go and compare their prices. A Good travel agent can be a big help but finding the right agent in the United states also lakes some work. Check with several agents and see if one comes up with the lowest priced fares consistently suggests the airline consumer action project. Flexible travel plans also Are important in galling the Best Price that group Points Oul ask about discounted prices for flights that leave at various limes. Night flights Are Otton cheaper As Are weekend prices on routes frequently used by business travellers during lha week. Travel to vacation resorts is sometimes cheaper monday through thursday since the weekend fights Are More in demand. And off season fares also save Money. Beware of restrictions and non refundable tickets. They May be cheapest but you May not to allowed to change your plans. And if you can t make he Light at All a non refundable ticket is worthless. Many airlines offer lower Rales for military personnel children students senior citizens and clergy so folks in those categories should ask. There Are Many other travel considerations discussed in the booklets including being bumped lost Luggage. Delayed and cancelled flights and smoking rules. In the end what it comes Down to is the need for Alert Consumers. And if a problem develops some constructive complaining most airlines in the United states have someone on duty at each Airport to contend with problems often with the authority to pay compensation for bumping and to write Small chocks to Settle claims Lor lost or damaged baggage it no one is available or they can t help complain directly to the airline s office of consumer affairs. Keep the Teller Short and business like stating the problem end what you want the company to do about it. Be warned however if you make excessive demands Many airlines won t take the matter seriously. Ii alter writing and negotiating the airline still declines to resolve the complaint Consumers can file a lawsuit or complain to local and Federal government agencies. While government officials can t Force airlines to Settle bringing them in May help. Consumers can Contact stale and local consumer affairs offices and also can write to the consumer affairs division room 10 05. Office of Community and consumer affairs . Department of transportation 400 7th Street sw., Washington . 20690. Playing the irs game of audit Roulette by Albertb Crenshaw the Washington Post on t a f your taxes and the irs will get you. Underpay your taxes and the irs will got you fair to Lite your return and the irs will gel you just How do they get you sen. David Pryor d Ark. Recently asked the general accounting office to count the ways. So far the Gao has come up with More than 150 civil penalties now available in Tho tax code and the pending technical corrections Tan Bill May add a couple of More these penalties along with interest on the tax interest on the penalties and interest on the interest can turn a rather modest tax deficiency into a lifetime indenture. Pryor ills of a constituent who challenged a $30.000 assessment Only to see it balloon to More than s200.000 by the time he lost his Case in tax court. Patricia Burton a tax preparer trom gales ferry Conn has a client who already has lost her House and still must pay Moie Ihan $600 a month to the irs just to slay  a growing number of people including Pryor Are beginning to wonder in the penalties have gotten Oul of hand. Tho system is a morass of inconsistency and ii rationally that often discourages rather than encourages  Pryor said at a hearing of his Senate finance committee s oversight subcommittee. But the subject is a delicate one. Congress not the internal Revenue service writes the Laws and in was Congress that wrote the penalties into the lax code Many of Tham added since 1980. It did so with Good reason aggressive taxpayers had figured out ways to game the  James e. Merrill a tax lawyer from san Francisco told Pryor of a situation in which a taxpayer was contemplating a $50 million deduction. At that Lime penalties were levied Only if a deduction was so outlandish As to be deemed negligent. The question was not whether or not the deduction was Correct rather it was whether it would be negligent to claim the  Merrill said if it were no negligent the taxpayer could earn several millions of dollars in interest because he could keep the Money longer even though the irs would audit and identify the Issue and the taxpayer would concede that he was t entitled to the deduction. Since that time Congress has enacted a 25 percent penalty for substantial understatement of one s tax liability which up the Ante beyond what most game players can expect to earn by keeping their Money Lor a Lew extra years. But this penalty can fall us As hard on the taxpayer who accidentally understates his income and the Small taxpayer May face a double bind a penalty Large enough to be very painful but Loo Small to make it worthwhile to hire a lawyer to fight it the fundamental problem that Pryor and his colleagues on Capitol Hill must Deal with is the possibility that excessive penalties will undermine taxpayers perception that the system is Lair. The irs and others Are fond of noting that the . Tax system is basically voluntary people compute their own taxes and pay them. Penalties that Are too severe can discourage voluntarism. A taxpayer who discovers a mistake May be More inclined to take his chances on being caught in he believes Hal by reporting it he May be exposed to penalties he views As unreasonable. Gerald g. Portney of the accounting firm of peal Marwick main & co. Described the kind of situation that happens All the time in his practice they be discovered the mistake. It was an innocent mistake. And then they Call me and they say. What is our exposure what i have to  Portney said is sit there and read Many of the 150 penalties and usually the chief financial officer is Silling there with either a calculator or something to write Wilh. And he proceeds to add those numbers and he gets to a Point and he says what Are my chances of getting caught " although Portney says he gives a Standard warning thai his firm will not help its clients play the audit lottery the client and his colleagues than adjourn and make what is euphemistically known in the Trade As a business decision. They evaluate what the potential Cost of coming Forward is with what the Cost of getting caught is. That s not the Way the system ought to  the irs has not been oblivious to the controversy. A task Force is now reviewing the penalty system to try to determine if it is fair and encourages compliance. Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday october 14,19bb