European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday. March 31. 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 15money matters i Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of March 24-30 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. British Pound one Pound would Cost you $1.73 $1.61 $1.46 1991 1990 1986 German Mark one Dollar would buy you 1 1.67 19� 1.68 1990 2.33 1986 a military Exchange rate. Belgian franc one Dollar would buy you 35.30. 35.45 1991 1990 it 48.42 1986 dutch Guilder one Dollar would buy you 1.93 1.93 i99m 1990 2.64 1986 a amps notice something a Little bit different about the Exchange rate bar graphs at the top of this Page Dollar rates in Germany and several other countries have managed to catch up. With last years highs. Well almost. In Germany the military Exchange rate through tuesday was set at 1.67 Marks for a Dollar compared with 1.68 Marks exactly a year ago. Dollar rates for the belgian franc and the dutch Guilder Are also just about where they were in late March 1990. Against the German Mark the Bucko a gains reflect currency traders fears that the current economic slump in Eastern Germany will be deep and drag the German Economy As a whole Down with it. Those apprehensions were underscored last week when Germany a Hans Tietmeyer a director of the country scentral Bank acknowledged that he and other financial leaders had initially underestimated the depth of problems in the East. Other economic pronouncements in the United states and Germany helped the . Military Exchange rate Rise seven pfennig on the week. German finance minister Theo Taigel said the Marks current weakness is something his country can live with adding that the Nark a needs no  meanwhile . Treasury Sec retail Nicholas Brady said be has seen a a the first tangible signs of a turnaround in the . Economy. Where does the Dollar go from Here some currency analysts said it is on its Way slowly but surely to 1.85 Marks on the world Market. Against the British Pound the Dollar has also been improving. The military Exchange rate in great Britain this weekend stands at $1.79 for one Pound a gain of four cents for the Dollar compared with a week earlier. The stars and stripes i desert War sparked demand for military hardware models by Ron Jensen staff writer the swarming attack by Allied warplanes on Baghdad As operation desert storm began was duplicated soon afterwards by the assault on Hobby shops by customers buying scale models of the weapons that Defeated Saddam Hussein. A the surge was mind boggling a said Chuck Harransky vice president of Milt tary Model distributors inc. Of Carrollton Texas. A the biggest problem i have right now is getting the product from the manufacturer a in a period  company would normally have sold 250 kits of the air forces a-10 warthog it sold 1,500. A years Supply of my Abrams tank models disappeared in 30 Days. A Quot Lee Leibold the company a sales manager in charge of wholesale said a business has been great we ended up in both january and february having the Best months in the 23-year history of our company. A a there was a period there when you  get an a-10. The manufacturer did no to have boxes. He did no to have kits to put in those  John Mccrury of the product development department at Revell Monogram in Des Plaines iii., did no to have figures available but said his company was unable to keep up with orders. A we were producing As fast As we could a Mccrury said. A the real surge came when the War started. The desert shield phase did something but not  Quot Quot Many of these models Are sold at cafes four seasons stores in Europe. But the surge in popularity has not yet reached those shelves a spokesman said. Master sgt. Dayton Strickland said one reason is that the audience is largely adult and involved with the real things. Also Many potential customers Are still in the persian Gulf Region. Perhaps they will buy models to remind themselves of their involvement when they return he said. Industry spokesmen say the business relies on the military enthusiasts who buy models regardless of world affairs. A amps Gus Schuettler cafes employee Terri Ambrose with display of Model kits at Cambrai Fritsch Cavern at Darmstadt  v but the 24-hour coverage of the War on television and the extensive reporting of it a news papers and news magazines helped attract new customers to the Hobby. A the person that does no to normally it build them had a lot of interest a har Ransky said. A y John Dewey Public relations director for Testor a manufacturer in rockfordhi., also said the coverage helped promote the Industry. Newsweek carried a cover picture of an f-117, a popular Model for the company. A a it a like having a full Page and on the cover a he said. A although nearly everyone ran out of Stock few seemed to be second guessing. Their decisions not to stockpile excess merchandise before the War began. A nobody knew there would be a War Quot Dewey said. Quot to gear up and produce excess surplus that s  plus he said if the War had gone badly making it unpopular with the american people a you have a Nasty Situ at  Quot Anthony Lati executive vice president of Model rectifier a manufacturer and distributor in Edison n.j., said there is widespread unease in the Industry about the increase in business created by the War. Nobody wanted a War he said even though it was Good for business. A you be always got kind of mixed emotions on  he said. Quot you a rather not see a War. We did no to Stock up. It was apparently not the Best business decision. In some cases we just  fill the  one distributor who did Stock up was Ilar Ransky who anticipated the surge and tripled his orders Tor desert storm models. Even that Jas not enough to meet the eventual demand. A a i did no to do it based on Good or bad a he said. A this is what we do even during the Vietnam War our business was healthy because people were still interested in the  Testory a Dewey said his company president a combat Pilot in Vietnam has a firm policy against tying the marketing of models to War in any Case. A some of our competitors we Felt with a certain Lack of taste did in fact promote their models with desert storm logos on packaging a Dewey said a we did no to feel it was appropriate to do  the surge that began shortly after the Start of desert storm continues in the Wake of the War but spokesmen said there will be an eventual drop  Boom has even sparked manufacturers to expand their product line to include As Many of the weapons front the War As possible. In april a scale Model of a Patriot missile the scud Buster a will be on store shelves. Officers in combat zone warned they May face tax Bill next year by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a officers in the persian Gulf combat zone May be hit with an unexpected Bill for Federal taxes next year because the government has decided not to withhold taxes from their paychecks on a monthly basis. A the first $500 of an officers pay is exempt from taxes for each month they spend in the Middle East combat zone. But the military a finance system Isnit set up to withhold Federal taxes on Only a portion of a service member a paycheck a Pentagon official said. So the government has decided to skip the Standard withholding of taxes while officers Are in the Gulf. That Means Sipany people Are getting bigger paychecks Han they should. But they  spend All the extra Money the Pentagon official said. At tax time next year they will have to Settle up with the internal Revenue service for taxes owed on any pay above $500 a month. Officers should put the extra Money aside until they file their taxes and find out How much of it they will have to pay Back the official said. He suggested putting the Money in a savings account where it will earn interest. A a it a going to be a mess a said or. Capt Steven Wiersma a flight surgeon with the 37th tac Airlift so at Rhein main a Germany. He spent seven months in the Mideast. Enlisted personnel in the persian Gulf done to have the same problem because All their pay is exempt from Federal taxes while serving in the theater a when enlisted pers Pumel get their w-2 forms their total a fount of taxable in come will be reduced by whatever amount of pay they received while serving in the Region a the Pentagon official said. A a. A the situation will be different for personnel whose level of withholding does not track their tax liability the official emphasized. A Many people. Voluntarily choose to have More Money withheld from their pay than is required by Law in order to get a larger Lump sum refund when they file their taxes a the official said. A you can do that any time. I could go to my finance office right now and ask that my. Withholding be  any additional withholding requested by service members that goes beyond the Basic requirements of the. Tax code will continue to be taken out of paychecks the official said