Masonry Magazine January 1971 Page. 40
Washington Wire
A CONDENSED POSTAL SERVICE MANUAL FOR MAILERS will soon be on sale. It is crammed full of information on various mail classifications and rates, on how to prepare your mailings efficiently for the most expeditious handling and how to take best advantage of special services such as special handling. A $3 subscription to the 300-page binder will provide revisions as adopted.
The manual contains about 80% of the material in the larger 700-page edition. Orders should be placed through the Supt. of Documents, Gov't Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20415.
MAIL RATES ARE GOING UP. That's likely to be the first great result you will see from the major postal organization recently signed into law. First-class mail appears certain to be increased, up to 8¢ an ounce from 6¢. In time, a new fast class, combining first class with air-mail, may emerge. Second-class mail will be lifted sharply, too. It doesn't pay its way now. Third-class mail may be raised relatively little; it already pays its way.
Taxes
TAX COMPUTATION
As a result of a recent IRS Ruling, the IRS will compute the tax owed by taxpayers with adjusted gross income up to $20,000 so long as this income is from wages, dividends, interest, and pensions and the taxpayer elects to take the standard deduction. When the IRS has computed the tax it will send either a refund or a bill.
CLUB DUES
In a recent case involving a doctor's entertainment expenses, the question arose as to the deductibility of the dues at a Country Club. The Court explained that the law permits a taxpayer to deduct that portion of the dues which corresponds to the taxpayer's actual use of the club for business entertaining.
There, the taxpayer was permitted to deduct that portion of the total dues that corresponded to the percentage which his expenditures for business meals (including his own meals) that took place at the club represented of his total yearly expenditure for food and beverage purchased at the club.
PRIVATE POLICE
In this day of increasing crime, it often becomes necessary for the owners of a store or place of business to employ "private police" to protect the property. When are such employees considered by the IRS to be employees of the store or shop owner for Federal tax purposes?
The IRS has recently issued two Rulings on this subject. A reading of the Rulings leads to the conclusion that the facts making such a workman an employee can be very close to the facts that cause him not to be an employee. The key question seems to be the degree of direct control that the owner has as to the services that are to be performed by the policeman. In both Rulings the services performed were almost the same the policeman would turn off the lights at a certain hour, check all windows and doors to be sure that they were locked, and general patrolling duties. Such policemen are employees only in cases where the owner of the store has the right to actually direct or control the manner in which the services are performed.
However, where the owner of a store contracted with an individual who operated a "patrol" service to have the same functions performed, the IRS ruled that such policemen are not employees of the owner of the store. This was so because the proprietor of the store did not retain the right to supervise or control the individual with whom the contract was made or his employees. Thus, for Federal employment tax purposes these "policemen" would not be considered employees of the store owner. Rev. Rul. 70-530,529.
CHARITABLE DEDUCTIONS
The net cost of charitable contributions in 1970 increased due to the fact that the surcharge was in effect for only half of the year. CCH provides the following chart to show the net cost of a charitable contribution per $100 of contributions:
| Taxable Income | Separate Return | Joint Return | Head of Household |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - GIANT Industries
8481 Whittier Blvd.
Pico Rivera, Calif. 90660
Call area 213:
699-6388 or 723-5218
Remember if you or your wife did volunteer work for a charitable organization during 1970, you can take a charitable contribution deduction for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses. These can include the cost of operating and maintaining an automobile to the extent that it is used to render gratuitous services. In addition to parking fees and tolls, the IRS will allow 6¢ per mile as the cost of operating an automobile.
masonry
• January, 1971