European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a the stars and stripes thursday March 22,1990many irs Bills wrong Magazine Char essays taxpayers paid $ 7 billion they did no to owe Washington apr nearly half the 36 million letters the irs mailed to taxpayers last year demanding additional tax and penalties were erroneous. Money Magazine estimated wednesday. Taxpayers confused by the Law and afraid of challenging the internal Revenue service forked Over $7 billion that they did not owe the Magazine concluded. A clearly individuals arc caving in to questionable demands for More Money that would propel them to the phone in a second if the Bill came from some Bank or credit card company a Money says in its april edition. The Magazine building on a 1988 study by the general accounting office an Arm of Congress interviewed lawyers tax accountants and irs officials in reaching those conclusions. Last month. Money polled 300 of its subscribers with a median income Over $52,000 a year and found that at sometime in their lives half had received irs Bills for More taxes and penalties. A a stunning 45 percent of those who contested their notices report that the irs claims were totally incorrect and an additional 24 percent said that they were at least partially wrong a the Magazine wrote. A a what a More of those who challenged the irs on their own 53 percent wound up paying nothing and another 17 percent succeeded in getting the Bill  the Telephone poll had an error margin of plus or minus 6 percentage Points. The Magazine blamed the irs error rate on poorly trained Low paid clerks who Type data from tax returns into computers at the Agency a 10 regional service centers and examiners just As poorly paid and under trained who manage the notices and follow up letters. Another key Factor acknowledged by the irs an aging computer system. The irs has begun a plan which could Cost $8 billion and take eight years to Complete to modernize its 1960s computers. Money said squalid working conditions in some irs facilities including the big Andover mass., service Center and the Manhattan District office Cut deeply into employee morale and increase the error rate. Although the irs disputed the magazines estimate of errors Agency officials have been saying publicly that the tax system could collapse unless the irs work Force is stabilized and the computers modernized. The Agency a budget was held Down considerably during the Reagan administration and a hiring freeze was imposed last year. A the tax system will continue  ing the Price of the 1989 hiring freeze for years to come a irs Commissio Fred t Goldberg or. Told a Hou panel earlier this month. The Money Story concentrated on four types of alleged errors a prompt irs notices of additional taxes and penalties errors in mathematics late filing of a return failure to  tax on some or All of income reported As having been paid by an employer Bank or broker and failure to  enough quarterly estimated tax. Those alleged errors accounted for More than 35 percent of the 36 million notices sent out last year. Those notices resulted in collection of $15.3 bib lion an average of $425 per notice. A a convincing Case can be made that at least $7 billion of that Money should never have been collected at All because around half of those imposing official notices were inaccurate a the Magazine  Cadet now fighting homosexual ban new Haven Conn. Apr in the eyes of the army a Reserve officer training corps James m. Holobaugh went from being a Model Cadet to a reject by uttering three words a i am  now Holobaugh is fighting the army a ban on homosexuals and hoping to receive the commission he considers he earned. Holobaugh 24, was once chosen to appear in an Roth recruitment and. He was to receive his army commission at Washington University in St. Louis last May a year before graduation. But after he informed his superiors a month earlier that he is a homosexual no commission was forthcoming. The Pentagon regards homosexuals As unsuitable for military service. The . Supreme court recently dealt opponents of that policy a setback by refusing to hear two appeals of the Pentagon policy. The army a professor of military science at Washington University in january recommended after a hearing that Holobaugh be denied his commission and that he be required to repay his four year scholarship Worth $25,000. A final decision is to be made by the commanding general of the army Cadet come at fort Monroe va., an Roth spokesman said. A i was kind of surprised about the scholarship a Holobaugh said monday. A if i had flunked out of school i could understand. But this was not for something i made a Choice about. I just  Holobaugh is finishing his engineering studies at the University of new Haven but will get his degree from Washington in May before taking a Job in new York City. Advised that years of lawsuits have been unsuccessful in changing the armed forces policy on homosexuals Holobaugh decided last month that going Public with his Story might be a More effective Way to put James m. Holobaugh a file pressure on the military. He said a i just told my father the first week of february that i was Gay and then Bam in Mon television. It was hard for  he said he has received letters of support from All Over the country and planned to begin taking his Case to College groups wednesday night at the Massachusetts Institute of technology. On thursday he was to speak at Harvard Law school. A i feel now for the rest of my life there will be something ill be fighting for a he said. Holobaugh said he believes that if schools begin kicking the Roth off Campus because of the defense departments ban of homosexuals the military might be swayed to change its policies in order to protect i program that each year turns out More than 70 percent of the army a Junior officers. Holobaugh took part in just about All of the Rotch a extracurricular activities and earned seven a a and one b in his military classes first at the University of Missouri at Rolla where he spent 2 i years and then at Washington University. A a lot of people bad Mouth the army when you re in. Its like the thing to do. But i knew i had chosen the right thing. I thought it was a great Opportunity to serve my country to get a lot of Good experience As a officer and to finance my education a he said adding that the army would have to sue him if it wants to collect scholarship Money. Holobaugh said he finally accepted the fact that he was homosexual in late 1988 and Early 1989. He said he went to a Captain for advice in april 1989 because he was afraid he could be court Martiale if it was found out he was homosexual after he was already in the army. The Captain advised him to Tell the truth and request he be denied his commission he followed the recommendation even though he said he wanted the commission. Later after talking with a lawyer he informed the army he wanted to fulfil his service obligations. A now that i look Back on it. In a really glad i said something because i can to imagine going four years on Active duty or eight in the reserves and trying to keep this secret a he said. 19 suits blame Gall bladder problems on diet plan n41an/1i apr a Tim non Nln Liat a 1i a. A a. A a. Miami apr the popular nutria system diet program has come under fire from 19 South Florida women who say in separate lawsuits that they have suffered Gall bladder damage from the rapid weight loss plan. All but two of the women Ages 17 to 60, have had Gall bladder operations since 1988, according to the lawsuits filed in Dade county circuit court on monday against the Pennsylvania company and several Florida franchises. Those plaintiffs who did not undergo surgery Are suffering from gallstones and May need to be Host Tali Zed attorney Robert Fiore said tuesday. The lawsuits charge negligence arguing that nutria system inc., based in Willow Grove pa., failed to supervise customers. 1 a a a a the conduct on the part of the defendants is tantamount to the unauthorized practice of medi 50 Cine without a License a the lawsuits charge. Nutria system has weight loss centers in All a a a. States Canada the United kingdom and Australia. It costs $530 to sign up and the system provides some of the food to Start the plan at a Cost of $46 to $70. Rapid weight loss is known to be linked to a variety of physical ailments according to the documents filed. A in articular rapid weight loss increases the saturation of bile with cholesterol directly contributing to the formation of symptomatic gallstones and Gall bladder disease dec suds a d. Nutria system spokesman James Millard said the conic any a attorney s had reviewed one of the lawsuits and found it with rpt Merit. A the allegations seen nip be coincidental to the a state of obesity a Millard said. A we feel our program of Civ it Viii Saiu odium Vic inc uni i Kabis an excellent program and we stand by its Quality Jefe. Its safety and its  he described the nutria system program As a comprehensive program that includes a nutritionally balanced calorie controlled meal plan that includes behaviour education nutritional instruction exercise and weight maintenance. One of the lawsuits by Rita Kronstat and her husband Selig said mrs. Kronstat lost 25 a of her 193 pounds in several weeks but then began suffer ing abdominal pain. A she was diagnosed As suffering from symptomatic gallstones and advised to have her Gall bladder removed As soon As possible a her lawsuit said. The surgery was performed dec. 7. Before signing up for nutria system she never had any gallstone or Gall bladder problems according to the lawsuit