European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 13, 1991 today s tip in european investors May out spend the japanese this year in the depressed . Real estate Market with Strong support Likely to come from Germany the Netherlands and Sweden according to a Survey by the Arthur Andersen and co. Accounting firm. A _ the firm estimates that euro Jean investment will reach $11 billion in 1991, the same level As a year ago. Japan is expected to invest Between $6 billion and $10 billion in the United states this year. While europeans Are concerned about the recession they believe there Are signs that the . Economy has been improving since the Gulf War. Conversion rates London up a fridays closing rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $361.25 an ounce Silver at $4.00. A British Pound. German Mark. French franc. Dutch Guilder. Belgian franc italian lira Swiss franc greek drachma. Turkish lira. Saudi arabian Riyal. Spanish peseta portuguese escudo. Canadian Dollar. Austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone. Danish Krone.,.april 11 .1.7890. 1 6655 5 6770 .1.8900 34 5325 ,1,248.90 1.4125 .181.95 3,738 50 3 7504 103 43 .,146.30 1.1518 ,.11.7960 6 5210 .6 4275 april 12 1.7825 1 6760 5.6495 1.8825 34.3725 i,241.25 1.4220 181 34 3,755.10 3.7504 103.10 145.30 1.1504 ii.7620 6.5000 6.4070 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.63 through monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up a York Stock Exchange Stock Amer express. A. Laidlaw inc b adv Micro docs toys r us inc. Upjohn  Corpa Philip Morris a waste Matt inc. Pepsico inc Delta air lines a a Glaxo holdings a a us corp. A get corp. Morgan up amp co Sears Roebuck. The 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on thursday. Sale last net chg. 5,198,900 27 % Oil % 3.947,300 12% Oil 1 3.845.400. 12% up 1 2.268.500 26 %. Up 2.215.900 46 % off 1 % 2.214,600 110 a off % 2,134,600 68% up % 2,104,000 36% off 1 % 1,893,900 33. Up % 1,844.600 69 % up % 1,750,500 39% up 1 % 1,568,300 33 up % 1,553.400 32%. Oft % 1,548.800 50% up 3 % 1. 517,300 35% up 1 american Exchange new York up a the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading thursday. Sale last net chg. Amdahl corp 924,000 17 up 1 a of loom. 614,100 15% up a Echo Bay mines 276,000 9 a a a Oft % Nabors in dusts 254 900 6% a unch Bat industries 219,200 12% off 1-16. Western digital a 212,600 5 up % Hsi omon Phi Bro 191,800 3%. Unch Salomon it 93apr 189,200 3 % unch magma Copper co 183,600 61h up %. A Quot corp 176,600 5 1/4 a up Dow Jones new York up a  f. Or it upon s�?~jc.,5 Dow Jones closing Range of averages High 2937 62 1132.93 21637 1046.89 Low 2877.72 111001 215.42 1026.74 close 2905.45 112112 21730 1036.60 change up 30 95 up 7 23 up 2 32 up 9.76 the stars and stripes a Page 17money matters despite april 15th deadline it s just a to hum tax season by Randy Mcclain financial writer the Date of april 15 does t pack nearly the psychological or financial Wallop overseas that it does in the United , As Well As other americans living overseas always qualify for an automatic two month Extension a a until june 17 this year. Interest for those two months must still be paid on any taxes owed but late filing penalties done to apply. And this year the april Impact is even More muted for service members who took part in operation desert storm. They have up to 285 Days after they return from the War zone to pay 1990 Federal taxes. For Many that will push their tax deadline to next year. Some service members and their spouses still plan to file returns by Midnight monday according to several private tax preparers but Overall it All adds up to a to hum tax season in Europe. John k. Martinsen chief of Legal assistance with v corps in Frankfurt Germany said his offices business is off at least 25 percent compared with last year. Military Legal affairs offices across Europe Are among locations that provide free tax advice to service members civilian government workers and their families. A a we re seeing some people who want to get filing out of the Way. But As far As the usual bulk of business we see at this stage its slower a Martinsen said. A people just Arentt putting any concentration on the 15th of  most service members taking the trouble to file Early Are either due a refund or have very simple tax situations the v corps Legal aft airs chief said. Margaret Furtado a private tax consultant in Kaiserslautern Germany who caters to military clients agreed that this year Hasni to been quite As hectic As years past. Furtado said she expects a secon Dary wave of business later in the year As filing extensions granted to Scarvie Emem ers play out. A this year was slower getting started a she said although she said the last week or two was a busier time for her. One private firm that seems to be Matching or exceeding last years business is h amp r Block. One reason May be that Block has 52 additional outlets this year because of an agreement with the army and air Force Exchange service. The agreement let the company open for business on a number of military installations in Germany England bal Gium and Italy. Cafes gets a 10 percent Cut of blocks sales in return. A a we re pretty Busy. I have to say that a said Ron Smircich who oversees it amp r blocks european operations. A amps Sharon Kilday families Arentt taking advantage of the desert storm filing extensions in All cases he said. A your experience has been v that we be had lots of spouses file already with Powers of attorney a with most of those due a refund he said. Smircich said he does no to yet have sales figures for h amp r Block Oil ices overseas but he added that a business has been better than Ever even with the troops  Smircich said he expects tax clients to continue seeking help at least until june. . Mcdonald an ii amp r Block fran Chis owner in Wiesbaden Germany said his business is Only marginally busier this year compared with last year. A april Isnit. Really As Busy Here As it is Hack in the states a he said. Mcdonald added Quot we might get More of a fran tic Rush As june 17 approaches. Right now we re not  with deadline nearing irs says tax filing season running smoothly by the new York times Washington a with Only two Days to go until april 15, the internal Revenue service is finding far fewer tax season gripes than usual being hurled its  be sure there Are still shortcomings such As the trouble taxpayers have in making Telephone Contact with irs tax advisers in the United states and new worries about whether electronic filing of tax returns can Lead to double dipping by taxpayers who Are owed refunds. But even some of the Agency a most persistent critics say that Day to Day operations Are generally the smoothest in a Long time. The contrast to the experience of the mid-1980�?Ts, particularly to 1985, when computer problems caused cd ten Sive and costly delays is especially Sharp. A this years filing season is proceeding successfully a said Jennie s. Stathis director of tax policy and administration issues at the general accounting office the investigative Arm of Congress. Indeed the refund Pace has quickened a bit since last year More of the elderly Are using simpler forms electronically filed returns Are running Well above expectations instruction booklets and forms Are better distributed and the irs has markedly improved its accuracy in Fielding taxpayer inquiries. A the filing season is going exceptionally Well a said Fred t. Goldberg jr., the commissioner of internal Revenue who took Over in 1989. A your ongoing investments in Quality and technology tire continuing to pay off much to the Benefit o the taxpaying  one of the things that most pleases the irs is the Boom in electronic filings which have soared 80 percent so far this year to 6.8 million about 10 percent of the returns filed so far. Electronic returns Are much less Likely to contain errors than returns filed on paper and Are quicker to process Accord. Ing to the irs. Mart k Mart sales rebound by the new York times Wal Mart stores the nations largest discounter and the k Mart corp., the second largest roared ahead in sales in March. In contrast a struggling Sears Roebuck amp co. And the . Penney co. Reported sales declines from the year  by an Early easter the nation s brim est retailers thursday reported generally improved sales in March compared with March 1990. Discounters and apparel chains showed the Best results. Analysts largely remained cautious about whether the months Tempo represents a real turnaround m consumer spending. But the Marchuk Pace of some 20 big retail a panics was markedly better than it was in february. Only four retailers had Flat or lower same store sales compared with 11 in february. Same stores Are those that Are at least a year old the sales of which Are considered More indicative of consumer buying intentions than of new stores which Benefit from their Novelty. The end of the american involvement in the. Persian Gulf War seems so far to have Given Little stimulus to retail sales although consumer Confidence reports say that americans Are More  but Barry Bryant retail analyst at Prudential securities inc., said Quot the improvement in apparel business underscores a pickup in consumer Confidence. But even with the earlier easter what we see is not an overwhelming turnaround. Well have to wait for