Masonry Magazine June 1973 Page. 38
Masonry Design Competition
(Continued from page 7)
Brighton; honorable mention ($25 each), Larry J. Nichols, Marine City, and Thomas E. Van Dyke, Southfield. Winners of the junior competition: first place, Richard A. Zischke, Detroit; 2nd place, Daniel W. Winey, Livonia; 3rd place, Donald M. Rochon, Warren; honorable mention, David W. Perkins, Jr., Westland; William A. Sawczuk, Warren, and Jeffrey R. Zokas, Livonia. Identical cash prizes were awarded.
In congratulating the winners for their innovative designs in masonry, Masonry Institute President Clarence D. Gleeson said that this competition would be the first of many sponsored by the Masonry Institute. "Due both to new building techniques and to a resurgency of interest in man's oldest building material, masonry construction has again come to the fore," Gleeson said. "Not only do we want to encourage students of architecture in Michigan to include brick, block and tile in their design repertoire but to have them understand the proper use of masonry."
Taxes
(Continued from page 14)
enclosed pedestrian mall. The city assessed the landowners for the improvements and financed the project by the issuance of ten-year bonds. The full cost of the construction represented by the bond principal was immediately assessed against and became a lien upon the property affected.
While title to the mall will remain in the city, it is expected that the mall will provide the affected landowners with a business advantage for a period of ten years. It is up to the assessed land owners to maintain the mall and pay the costs of heating and airconditioning it. The IRS was asked how the landowners might handle these costs and payments for tax purposes.
First, the IRS ruled that the assessments were capital expenditures and while they cannot be deductible as taxes, they can be depreciated over a ten-year period. However, the portions of the interest payments that are made to meet interest charges on the bonds are deductible as taxes. (Rev. Rul. 73-188.)
1972 RETURNS
The IRS expects to pay some $21 billion in refunds this year. This was an increase of some $7 billion over the refunds paid in 1971. Total collection is expected to reach and perhaps pass the $200 billion mark.
Here is a most interesting fact that might encourage Congress to simplify tax return reporting. By March 28, 1973, one out of every 3 individuals filing an income tax return had used the Short Form 1040A.
In the Administration's tax reform proposals for 1973, one of the items calls for a $500 miscellaneous deduction allowance that would replace several existing deductions. Perhaps the thought is that instead of just investigating and strictly supervising the role of tax preparers, by simplifying the job of tax reporting there will follow a lessening of the need for using tax preparers. As it stands now it seems that more than half of the individuals using Form 1040 have been turning to the services of outside tax preparers.
EMPLOYEE PLAN
The income tax regulations provide that a qualified plan is a definite, written program that is communicated to the employees. The IRS has made it clear that a qualified plan does not even come into existence until it is communicated to the employees.
A question concerning this communication requirement was recently asked of the IRS. One employer adopted a plan that provided for coverage of all salaried employees who had at least three years of service. It seems that all of the salaried employees were given copies of the plan but the hourly paid employees were in no way informed of the plan's adoption or the salient provisions thereof. The IRS was asked: Would this lack of total communication defeat the qualification of this plan?
The IRS noted first that the employees to whom a plan must be communicated are all those in the classification, or classifications that are or could become participants under the plan. And that was done in this case-copies of the plan were given to all salaried employees.
Therefore, the IRS ruled that the plan met the communications requirement even though the excluded hourly paid employees were not notified of the plan's adoption and the salient provisions thereof. The plan was found to qualify. (Rev.Rul.73-78.)
-mcoo-
The average American wage earner has to work more than one-third of each eight-hour work day this year-two hours and 51 minutes to be exact-just to earn enough to pay his taxes, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States calculates. Viewed another way, until May 10 all of Mr. Average Taxpayer's earnings are earmarked just to meet his federal, state and local taxes.