European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 c the stars and stripes wednesday december 16,1991 electronic filing equals speedy tax refunds Whitney Holder operations manager of speeds conducts a workshop on electronic tax filing in Darmstadt Germany a amps Kan Georg by Ron Jensen. Staff writer Darmstadt Germany a time comes to a halt when a taxpayer is awaiting the mailman s delivery of Nis or her tax refund. Glaciers Cross entire continents and wars arc fought in the time it takes for the refund Check to arrive. With the army a use of electronic filing last year in Europe however Many soldiers received their refunds in As few As 10 Days. A a person that has a refund coming and want it quickly this is the system that will do it for them a said it. Col. Thomas a Romig the staff judge advocate for the 32nd air defense arty come. The system he referred to is one owned by the speeds company of Minneapolis. With it tax returns arrive at the irs in one Day and refunds Are often paid within two weeks. The system was used by 3,273 people last year when it was tried on a Pilot basis within Usa eur. That figure makes the system a Success to the operations manager of speeds. A i think it was extremely successful a said Whitney Holder. A filing 3,000 tax returns in your first year is a fabulous  she said offices that handled the electronic returns can probably expect a 10 percent increase this year. Holder who is in Germany this week conducting workshops on the filing system said electronic tax filing has been growing in popularity in the states since 1080, when 25,000 returns were filed via computer. That number jumped to 7.5 million last year and is expected to grow at a 100 per cent rate for the next two years which will mean about 30 million of the 113 million taxpayers will not be waiting by the Mailbox. About 60 percent of taxpayers receive refunds which average about $1,100, Holder said. Chief warrant officer 2 Joe Robertson a Legal administrator in the judge advocate office of 32nd air defense arty come said there Are few restrictions on who can use the free service. It is available Only to those who qualify for a refund and whose return is not extremely Complex. But Robertson said that includes almost All soldiers. A the Bottom line is i you re getting a refund More than Likely you qualify Tor the program a he said. The system is easy to use he said. A Soldier or civilian worker simply fills out the tax form As usual. But instead of mailing it it is taken to an office where it is entered into a computer and sent to the office of speeds which sends it immediately to the irs in Andover mass. If the taxpayer wants the refund deposited directly into the Bank within about 10 Days he or she provides the Bank account number. A refund by Check will arrive within about two weeks. Robertson. Suggested that soldiers Check with their local Community Slegal office to see where to deliver the forms for inputting. Romig said the system provides Quality control As Well As Speed. If there is a mistake in a taxpayers math on the return the computer will automatically Point it out. The army began using electronic filing in the states in 1987 at fort Bragg . It is now available at nearly All army installations  corps specialist sentenced to prison for beating woman Stuttgart Germany a amps a an army specialist has been sentenced to six years in prison for repeatedly beating a turkish woman and for other offences according to Vii corps. Spec. Darryl l. Bell 26, of Highland Park mich., pleaded guilty in accordance with a pretrial agreement that limits his sentence to four years with the remaining two years to be suspended on the condition of Good behaviour. Bell a Cook assigned to he det base support in at Cooke Barracks in popping in broke the victim1 jaw in three places when she was seven months pregnant. He pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault and four counts of assault and Batty in at his general court martial Friday. Bell also pleaded guilty to obstruction of Justice for influencing the victim to change her testimony conspiracy to obstruct Justice for using an intermediary to try to persuade the victim to change her statement wilful damage to private property because he broke Down her apartment door adultery involving the same woman another count of adultery involving a German woman and violation of a general order for letting an unauthorized person drive his  car. The offences occurred Between May 1989 and August 1991 in the Goppinger area. The court also sentenced Bell to a bad conduct discharge demotion to the lowest enlisted rank and forfeiture of All pay and allowances. Now that a first class postage san Francisco jeweler Sidney Mobell shows off his latest creation a 24-Carat Gold Mailbox adorned with 272 sapphires rubies diamonds and emeralds. The bejewelled Box carries a Price tag of $250,000. Eskimos May get control of Arctic Canada area toront6 a the National government and the eskimos of the Northwest territories have reached a tentative agreement that would give the native people control Over the Eastern half of the vast Pristine Arctic territory. Under the plan announced monday the eskimos will have the right to Hunt fish and trap across 740,000 Square Miles a an area three times the size of Texas a that will be called Nunavut. The Western remainder of the Northwest territories will be renamed. The approximately 17,500 eskimos who Call themselves inuit will be Given outright ownership of 135,000 Square Miles in Nunavut As Well As compensation of $1.03 billion Over 14 years. In Exchange the 17,500 eskimos living in Nunavut would surrender their claim to own the entirety of the Northwest territories where they have  thousands of years. Nunavut the inuit word for a Homeland a would have a territorial government like the Northwest and Yukon territories which have somewhat More autonomy than the More densely populated and developed provinces. The new territory would extend from the 60th parallel to the North pole the Western Boundary would extend from the Saskatchewan Manitoba Border Northwest to Victoria Island. The encompassed land is Rich in Lead Gold and fur bearing animals. Thousands of Musk oxen and Polar bears roam the Region. Tom Siddon minister of Indian affairs and Northern development noted that the agreement is not legally binding and a number of problems must be ironed out before final signature. Legislation to establish the separate territory and to ratify the land claim agreement must be passed by the House of commons. The agreement also must be ratified by a vote of the inuit. A a it a not a done Deal yet not by any Means a said John Amago Alik an adviser to the Tungsvik federation of Nunavut a the organization representing the inuit in the negotiations