European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes Money matters wednesday december 30,1992irs sending Post Holiday greetings Washington a pity the poor letter carriers. Just As they empty their mailbag of Holiday greeting cards and packages Uncle Sam is about to fill them with income tax forms. The internal Revenue service said monday that More than 107 million Federal income tax packages will go in the mail starting saturday. But the irs added that Many letter carriers will find their loads lighter later in the year. It expects 14 million taxpayers to meet the april 15 filing deadline by using tax preparers who return forms electronically rather than by mail. That a 3 million More than last year. Still it will Cost the irs about $19 million in postage to deliver the forms in addition to the $12 million it Cost to print them. That san average Cost of 30 cents a package. Most taxpayers in the states should receive their form 1040, 1040a or i040ez by the end of this week or the first part of next week although a few May get them earlier thanks to local postmasters who jump the gun. Taxpayers will find few changes in their forms this year although there Are some significant differences in compiling some of their taxes. The personal exemption has been raised by $150, to $2,300 for most taxpayers their spouses and children. However High income earners May have to reduce their exemptions if their adjusted Gross income exceeds a certain amount. The Standard deduction for people who do not itemize also has been raised. For a single taxpayer its now $3,600, up Uncle Sam working to make fax filing easier Washington a the internal Revenue service is offering a variety of ways to file returns depending on residence and the size of ones income. The irs also has several toll free Telephone numbers that taxpayers May Call for additional forms or for assistance. Stateside callers can get additional forms and publications by calling d 800-829-3676 mondays through saturdays. For help in filling them out they can Call 1-800-829-1040 mondays through fridays during regular business hours. More than 18 million taxpayers used this assistance last year the irs said. The . Embassy in Bonn Germany said there Are no numbers out Side the United states that overseas taxpayers can Call for information. However a spokeswoman said callers from Europe might be Able to reach the Irso 800 numbers with at amp to credit cards via the company Susa direct service. For the second year the irs is testing telefilm with the 1.1 million people in Ohio who receive form 1040ez a single people with less than $50,000 incomes. Telefilm will permit residents of Southern Ohio to provide the necessary tax information to the irs by Telephone using As a voice signatures a their names and social Security numbers. The Only thing these taxpayers will need to mail is a payment Check if they owe taxes. For Northern ohioans telefilm will continue to be a combination of entering tax data by phone and mailing a signed form 1040-Tel with the w-2 forms from employers. The irs said decisions on future testing or further implementation of telefilm will be based on an analysis of the 1992 and 1993 experiences. A Lack of interest has forced the irs to discontinue another approach to making tax filing easier. This was the use of form ez-1, in which a taxpayer just entered any interest income answered three questions attached the w-2s and signed the form. The irs then figured the tax. It said Only 2 percent of the 340,000 taxpayers who received the test package in 1991 and 1992 took advantage of it. From $3,400 last year for Heads of households its $5,250, up from $5,000. The Standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly has been raised to $6,000 from $5,700, while the deduction for a married couple filing separately now is $3,000, up from $2,850 last year. Once again people who itemize will not be permitted to include most interest payments on personal debt such As credit card borrowing and Auto Loans. Home mortgage interest continues to be deductible however. The Dollar limit for earned income credit a the Benefit for Low income working families with children a has been raised from $21,250 to $22,370, including any nontaxable earned income. The maximum credit this year is $2,211, up from $2,020. And the income tax table in form 1040 has been expanded from $50,000 to $100,000. Fourteen million More taxpayers now can use the table which the irs expects to help Cut Down on errors made when figuring the tax amount. The tax rates remain the same however. The Basic rate for taxpayers in the upper income bracket is 31 percent. The rates for the lower brackets remain 15 percent and 28 percent although the income ranges covered by the brackets have been adjusted to reflect , Toyota cars dominate list of Best for 93 Heathrow Fla. A general motors corp. And Toyota motor corp. Tied with three cars each monday when the american automobile association released its rating of the Best 1993 models in 10 Price categories. Toyota placed one car on the budget end while its lexus luxury import division had two on the upper end. Pm took spots in Between. A buying a new car can be confusing and time consuming a said aaa spokesman Tom Schroder. A a aah a list is designed to help Consumers narrow their choices. The cars on our list represent the Best combination of engineering workmanship styling Comfort and  aaa rated the cars by Price Range based on the Auto clubs review of 121 new car models Evaluat-ing20characleristics Worth 10 Points each. The lexus is 400, the pick for the $45,000 to $50,000 Range scored highest of All cars with 177 Points. The other lexus winning entry was the so 300 at $30,000 to $35,000. Gmys picks were the Geo prize Psi in the $10,000 to $15,000 Range Oldsmobile eighty eight is for $20,000 to $25,000, and the Cadillac Seville its for $40,000 to $45,000. The Toyota Tercel do and Ford escort la tied for cars priced under $10,000. The Mercedes Benz 400sel took the luxury title for cars priced above $50,000. The Dodge intrepid is bumped last years winning Honda Accord for $15,000 to $20,000. The Saab 9000 is Turbo was the Choice at $25,000 to $30,000. The Bow 525i touring station Wagon the automakers first Wagon in the . Market displaced last years tying imports the lexus sc400 and Acura legend at $35,000 to $40,000. . Power and associates a marketing information company that ranked cars in four Price ranges after 90 Days of ownership last july overlapped with aaa Only on the lexus is 400. Its other lop rated cars were the Toyota Corolla Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and Buick regal Sedan. Sales of existing Homes reach highest annual rate in 6 years Washington apr buyers fearing rising mortgage rates pushed sales of previously owned Homes up 5.8 percent in november to the highest annual sales rate in nearly six years a Trade group said tuesday. A Many decided to buy after seeing a Spike in interest rates during a time of economic recovery a said Williams Chee president of the National association of realtors which compiles the monthly figures. Sales of existing Homes were up in each Region of the nation the group said. Nationally sales totalled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.85 million in november up from 3.64 million a month earlier and the second straight increase. It was the highest since a 3.89 million rate in december 1986. Sales were 3.22 million in 1991. The association is forecasting that sales will reach 3.44 million units this year the most since hitting a similar level in 1988. It also predicts sales of 3.67 million in 1993, the highest since 3.83 million in 1979. According to the Federal Home loan mortgage corp., 30-year, fixed rate mortgages averaged 8.31 percent in november up from 8.09 percent in october the realtors also said the median Price of a previously owned Home fell 0.5 percent in november to Many decided to buy after seeing a Spike in interest rates during a time of economic  William s. Chee National association of realtors $102,900 from $103,400. The median Means half of the Homes Cost More and half Cost less. The South posted the biggest sales increase in november up 7.7 percent to a 1.4 million annual rate. The median Price there inched up 0.3 percent to $92,000. Sales in the Midwest Rose 4.9 percent to a 1.07 million rate. The median Price was $82,300, Down 0.1 percent from october. In the West where the median Price fell 3,2 percent to $137,900, sales Rose 3.8 percent to a rate of 820,000. Sales also Rose 3.7 percent in the Northeast to a rate of 560,000, despite prices that Rose 1.5 percent to $137,800. A amp a to alter claims in pampers ads Cincinnati apr the Procter amp Gamble co. Agreed to a better business Bureau request to modify advertising statements that pampers disposable diapers keep babies healthier than cloth diapers the Bureau said monday. The National association of diaper services a Trade association of cloth diaper services complained that the television and print ads implied cloth diapers Are not healthful. In the ads a paediatric nurse at a Lubbock Texas Hospital says that the Hospital found cloth diapers did not work As Well As disposable diapers. In a print version of the ads the nurse also says a i w ant to make sure our babies Are healthy now. They deserve to be healthy a and a dry skin is healthier  according to the bureaus National advertising Divi Sion a amp a agreed to alter the language in the ads deleting the phrase a they deserve to be  a amp a also agreed to revise the last sentence to read a and dry skin is important to healthy  a a amp a representatives could not be reached for comment after business hours monday. In a statement released by the better business Bureau a amp a said it disagreed with the advertising division s findings but would modify its ads a in the spirit of cooperation with the  the diaper services association also complained that the ads made false claims about How Well pampers work and that a amp a has reduced the size and packaging of the diapers to create less waste. The advertising division found nothing wrong with those a amp a claims