Taxable

Which are God's little acres?That's a question Maryland's highest court will have to decide in a dispute pitting the Archdiocese of Baltimore against state tax collectors trying to tax 16 1/2 acres surrounding a north Baltimore County church.The dispute -- which could have far-reaching consequences for suburban churches -- dates to the 1996 construction of the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier in a rural section of Hunt Valley.The State Department of Assessment and Taxation says the church owes taxes on the land because it isn't being used.

Howard schools should protect computer courseDuring the 1999-2000 school year, Howard County will be denying children who are intersted in math and science the opportunity to attend a higher-level computer course.The course is titled Computer Science III AP.The reason this occurred was "budgetary" constraints. But if I understand the course concept, it makes a lot of economic sense to me.This course was going to be taught at a Howard County high school during the evening and all the other high school students in the county would attend the one course.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15. See below for how to submit a question.I withdrew $5,000 from my IRA on April 4, 1998, and then put $2,000 of it back as a rollover on June 1, 1998. I received a 1099 form which states that I must claim $5,000 as taxable income. I think I should only have to claim $3,000. How do I report this on my Form 1040? I may use TurboTax. Does it take this into account in its automated system?

The 1999 tax season could pack a one-two punch for equity mutual fund shareholders: a paper loss for 1998 and a hefty capital-gains tax bill to be paid in the spring of 1999.This contradiction -- taxable gains in a losing year -- might seem unfair to holders of equity mutual funds on pace to post a decline in value in 1998.But contradictions happen.And several fund companies -- Vanguard Group and John Hancock Funds, to name two -- have written to shareholders, warning that their taxes could climb a little higher as their funds' share prices slip a little lower.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q: My daughter, 19, is a full-time student and my dependent. She earned about $200 more than $6,800 -- the Maryland threshold for her to have to file a return. When I computed her return, her state taxes turned out to be about $350. Did I do something wrong? It seems inequitable that being $200 over the limit would mean that big a tax bill.A: Assuming your tax calculation was based on a 50-percent local tax rate, your daughter's tax bill will be close to your calculation.