Bethpage-Tribune_1989-03-31

              BETHPAGE
1,11.1 . t i y
Island Trees Plainedge
also serving
Seaford Old Bethpage Plainview
VOL. 22 NO. 20 March 31-Aprii 6,1988 20 CENTS
HOW TO AVOID LAST MINUTE MISHAPS
If you want to look back on the 1989
tax season without remorse, the New
York State Society of Certified Public
Accountants (NYSSCPA) suggests
you avoid some of the most common,
last-minute tax mistakes.
Individual Retirement Accounts
(IRAs) may not be as extinct as you
think. The only taxpayers who cannot
deduct all or part of their contribu­tions
are those who actively partici­pate
in an employer-sponsor retire­ment
plan and who earn at least
$50,000 if married and at least $35,000
if single.
To find out if you are considered
an "active participant" in a retirement
plan^k)ok at box five on your W-2
form, ff you discover that you can
deduct an IRA contribution, don't
panic. As long as you open the account
by April 17, 1989, you can still make
a 1988 IRA contribution.
Your paycheck stub may be the key
to valuable deductions. First of all,
if you pay an annual fee to your com­pany
for medical insurance, the pay­check
stub usually will note the
amount automatically deducted each
month for this purpose.
Your paycheck stubs also may note
automatic deductions for IRA
accounts or donations to charities
such as the United Way. Add up the
numbers and you may be surprised
ai now mucn tax money you can save.
A common mistake is to deduct
reimbursed expenses. Before you mail
your tax return, carefully review your
miscellaneous, medical, and casualty-loss
deductions to ensure that you
have not accidentally included any
expenses reimbursed by your
employer or an insurance company.
Don't forget to determine whether
you qualify for a tax credit, which
allows you to subtract a specified
amount directly from the income tax
you would otherwise owe. Credits are
available for the elderly or perman­ently
and totally disabled, for quali­fied
dependent-care expenses, and for
low-income workers with one or more
dependents.
Failing to attach the necessary doc­uments
to your tax return may well
invite an IRS inquiry.
Enclosed with your return should
be a W-2 form, which lists your annual
wages and the amount of taxes paid
during the year. You also may have
to send out one or more of the new
forms, such as Form 8606 for non­deductible
IRA contributions. If you
don't, you may be fined.
Even the smallest mistakes, such as
forgetting to sign your tax return, can
have serious consequences.
CPAs warn taxpayers that the
Internal Revenue Service may treat
unsigned returns as if they had never
been filled. As a result, you could be
penalized five percent of the net tax
due for each month the return is late,
with a maximum penalty of 25
percent.
Drug & Alcohol Abuse Forum
Sponsored by B.H.$. PTA
How .mi alcohol mA dvu^ affect­ing
tiieBethp^eqommiinity. Thin^is
th focv^ of an open fomm sponsdxt^
by Betlnpage H i ^ School PTA, to \^
held Tuesday, April 4 at 8:QQ p.m. in
ihe High School Little Theatre,.
Cheery AvejEiue» Bethpage.
Paneii&tiB wtU include Mr. Boh
Forestieri, a<^ing director of P£0*
PLlg, the Bethp^fihbased counseling
aiency, Ms. fiU^ Mayer and Ms.
iSi^or^B Magmore, {»oclal w^ers at
Bethpage. mi^: School aii4 J^EK.
Junior Hi|^, 'm^ Mr. Oeorge NeaHs,
a B;H.S.'tw)i^:stw}ijeii^tQJBch)»ri «iio
eompMe^ atratol^ pro-am at
South Oaks HoapitaSt and work with
recovpring^^n saeohoBcs. j^epresen*
tativeatfromtli^ Nasiau'County Police
ElN^ari^nt's Bighth'PredM and
Nfssau County^Ddpartmeot <^ Drug
aiufAIcohoi AdftictlOQ havealso been
'invited to paHici(»ktie.* ^ j
At^are welcome to coniip, lisMfn, and
participate in tlii» ini|iortattt prograo),
which will be the first step towani a
unified school and cofsmm^i <^<^
on our cd4n|i»inity» and to <Mi v0k
it thfottji^ f^ewation and tln^ strestgsElji
Uiait^ cc»ij«»rfroii» conumtmast'to a-
TAKING i^„[^„i„[D«E
IN OUR COUNTY
ON
Nassau County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta, (right), dedicated the "Ribbon
of Pride" at the Nassau County Executive Building in Mineoia, as an
introduction to Project P.R.I.D.E., (Prevention Resource Information and
Drug Education), a drug prevention and education program.
Two thousand feet of ribbon which included over ten thousand handprints
of children and parents throughout Nassau County, was wrapped around
the County Executive Building as a symbol of a drug free life sytle in Nassau
County. The messa|,s of each handprint on the ribbon, symbolizes a serious
and meaningful pledge made by these children and parents to keep their hands-off
drugs.
Project P.R.I.D.E. is an effort of the Nassau County Department of Drug
and Alcohol Addiction in conjunction with the National Committee for
Furtherance of Jewish Education of Nassau County.
Also present in the photo were, from left to right, seated; Adam Stoll,
SADD/Kennedy High School, Plainview School District; North Hempstead
Supervisor B. Kiernan; Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Director, P.R.I.DTI. and
Executive Director, National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education
of N.C.