Withholding

A chart on page E1 of yesterday's Evening Sun incorrectly listed the amounts of withholding taxes due the federal government from businesses nationally. The chart should have indicated that businesses owed the federal government $5 billion in 1991, $4.6 billion in 1990 and $4.7 billion in 1989. The Evening Sun regrets the error.When cash is tight and getting a bank loan impossible, some business owners can't resist the temptation to dip into the money they withhold from employee paychecks to pay taxes.

An attorney representing the University of Maryland argued Thursday that the Atlantic Coast Conference has left the college's athletic department with a vast budget "hole" by improperly withholding millions of dollars in shared conference revenues after the school decided to join the Big Ten. "They're taking it out of our pocket, and we don't have it," Maryland Assistant Attorney General John Kuchno said during a nearly three-hour hearing in...

Representatives of the state comptroller's office met yesterday in Rockville with supervisors of high school guidance counselors, as part of an effort to get the word out about a new withholding exemption form.Students and other part-time workers earning less than $6,800 do not need to have taxes withheld from their paychecks, but must file a new form to be exempted from withholding.Those filing by Dec. 31 will avoid withholding in the new year and may not have to file a 1998 state return at all, said Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein.

When Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman first suggested withholding state tax refunds from people who have open warrants nearly three years ago, critics said it was a foolish pursuit. "One of the criticisms I got was, 'How many criminals have jobs where they are going to get a tax refund?'" he recalled. He couldn't say. Now he can. "There were 396," he told the County Council during a recent budget hearing. This past tax season - the first with the program fully in effect - that's the number of letters the state comptroller's office sent, telling people if they wanted their money, they'd have to clear their open Anne Arundel County warrants.

The Maryland State Comptroller's Office has mailed more than 121,000 employers in the state a tax withholding guide for 1998 that explains the latest changes to the law.The guide provides both instructions and tables stating how much employers should withhold from weekly, biweekly and monthly pay checks.It also reminds employers that the tax deduction applies only to the state income tax.The state income tax rate drops to 4.95 percent from 5 percent next year, and the personal exemption increases to $1,400 from $1,200.

CHICAGO -- Anyone with a nest egg growing securely in a company pension plan should keep an eye on the new fox patrolling the henhouse: U.S. lawmakers.Under legislation effective Jan. 1, 1993, any lump-sum distribution from a company pension plan -- generally made to someone who retires, resigns or is fired -- will be subject to a 20 percent withholding tax if the check is paid directly to the employee. The result of what critics call a trap built into the new withholding law could be more taxes owed on April 15, 1993.

QUESTION: I soon will buy my first house and will have a huge deduction to take off my taxes. But I don't want to pay out so much for withholding taxes during the year and only get the money back next year when I file my taxes. What should I do?ANSWER: One of the primary financial advantages of homeownership is the tax deduction allowed to the homeowner. Typically, a homeowner can deduct from income all mortgage interest plus all real estate taxes.Therefore, the amount of interest and taxes to be paid in the coming year should be added together and divided by 12 -- this equals the monthly tax deduction the home will provide.

MILWAUKEE -- Orioles players and owner Peter Angelos agree on at least one thing: The owners should not have withheld the $7.8 million All-Star Game payment to the players' pension fund, a move that caused the players to discuss pushing up the strike date to yesterday, before they decided to keep it at Aug. 12.They disagree on the intent of the move.Orioles player representatives Mike Mussina and Jim Poole were on a conference call with union officials and player representatives from other clubs yesterday.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's effort to stimulate the economy by cutting the amount of federal taxes withheld from paychecks each week may be both an economic and political fiasco.People across the country are rejecting Mr. Bush's decision to unilaterally lower their refund checks from the Internal Revenue Service or put them in the position where they could owe the government money.They are deluging corporate and government personnel offices to undo what the president did. And many are angry that they have to go to the trouble because of what they see as an election-year ploy.

The Dow Jones industrial average recovered from a 15-point early-morning loss yesterday and managed a slim gain. Following bonds higher, the Dow index edged up 1.62 points to close at 3,755.43. Many investors remained on the sidelines, awaiting Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan's appearance on Capitol Hill tomorrow.Speaking of stocks, here's good advice: "The single most important rule about successful investing is to avoid taking a big loss. Dollar-cost averaging -- investing a set amount of money at fixed time intervals -- is the investor's best approach to long-term investing.

Baltimore officials are refusing to pay the city's former speed and red-light camera operator $2 million for its final three months of work, a period that preceded the troubled start for the new contractor in January. The city stopped issuing tickets from the cameras for weeks because of the rocky transition from the old vendor, Xerox State and Local Solutions, to Brekford Corp. Xerox says it's owed money for services provided in October, November and December, according to Solicitor George Nilson, the city's chief lawyer.

Eleven people and the state ACLU sued Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold on Wednesday, contending that the county illegally compiled files about citizens on Leopold's alleged "enemies list," then refused to release the information collected. The civil complaint alleges that Leopold, his office and the county Police Department broke two provisions of Maryland's public records laws, first by creating the files and then by not turning them over to people who suspected they were targets.

The owner of a Baltimore substance abuse center led a protest of more than 120 people Thursday morning at the doors of Johns Hopkins Hospital, saying the medical giant owes his organization more than $100,000 in Medicaid payments. The Rev. Milton E. Williams, who operates the Turning Point Substance Abuse Clinic in East Baltimore, said his organization had provided hundreds of patients with free care because a Hopkins affiliate has not reimbursed it for treating Medicaid patients.

A bill to change the way the Columbia Association is defined in state law is portrayed by the organization's lawyer as a necessary housekeeping measure, but the legislation seems to have an image problem.  The Columbia Association board had it on the agenda for discussion recently, but the occasion served mainly as a reminder of last fall, when the CA proposed, then withdrew, a request that the county's legislative delegation sponsor the law...

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti acknowledged Friday there is still a “gap” in contract talks between the team and Ray Rice, but he remains optimistic the team will reach a long-term agreement with its star running back and quarterback Joe Flacco. Rice, who would play the season under the $7.7-million franchise tag if a long-term extension isn't reached before July 16, is not expected to be at the team's mandatory veteran mini-camp which starts Tuesday and is a threat to hold out from next month's training camp.

Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ronald S. Bateman says he has a plan for an innovative crime tool that plays on criminals' greed by making them turn themselves in before they can collect tax refunds. At Bateman's urging, the General Assembly signed off on a bill —awaiting Gov. Martin O'Malley's signature — that will allow the state to withhold refunds for people with outstanding arrest warrants in the county. Bateman says he hasn't seen such a program anywhere else. "I came up with the idea because I know greed is a close first or second to the root of all crimes," Bateman said.

The 1992 election campaign has barely begun, but every wage and salary earner in America now has a chance to vote on part of President Bush's economic recovery package, a key campaign issue.Instead of asking for a ballot, they can ask their employer for a W-4 form and decline the lower tax withholding rate in the Bush plan. Or they can take home a bit more cash with each paycheck.New tax withholding schedules are to be implemented by employers starting today. The new schedules, which Mr. Bush called for in his State of the Union speech, are intended to cut tax withholding rates slightly and put a maximum this year of $345 -- for married people filing jointly -- into the pockets of low- and middle-income workers.

WASHINGTON -- Some congressional Republicans may push to end one of the most despised items in the United States -- the withholding tax.They propose to replace it with something Americans may hate even more: a monthly tax payment to the government.The Republicans' rage to enrage has a purpose. If every American had to write a monthly check to pay taxes, he or she "would curse the government every month," said Andrew Laperriere, legislative assistant to Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, the likely House majority leader in the Congress that will convene in January.

As one who was told, by name, to "shut up and listen" by a fellow resident at the recent pre-submission meeting concerning GGP's plans for the mall, I feel compelled to comment on three portions of your article, "Mall plans draw tepid response" (Jan. 19). One: You claim that residents were "unconvinced at first that (GGP's) hands were tied" in terms of sharing more information about their plans. Actually, we continue to be unconvinced. Contrary to GGP's assertion, the county's development approval process clearly allows them to share whatever additional information they want to share about their plans.

Commuter advocates and Maryland lawmakers say they will fight to renew an expiring tax credit that benefits mass-transit users, including MARC riders. Current federal law allows commuters to withhold up to $230 in pre-tax income each month that can be used to pay for train and bus fares, but the cap will fall to $125 a month next year because Congress didn't renew the more generous break. The difference means a 22 percent increase in commuting costs for some, which can translate into hundreds of dollars a year.