Tax Refund

The other day, while I was teaching a class, the discussion about "political language" got away from me and devolved into a heated argument about our President's desire to return to the American people trillions of dollars in tax revenue. This is a night class, composed of a good number of working adults of both genders, as well as typically aged students, together representing a fair sample of American citizens. The usual sides pitched camp. Those of conservative leanings wanted back some, if not all, of the taxes the government had sliced away from their gross incomes, and those of the liberal wing wanted the federal government to keep the money.

A select group of Chester County taxpayers are about to be offered a deal from the county commissioners. In return for giving up their right to a refund on the personal property tax collected between 1993 and 1996, the county will not seek payment of taxes on stocks that during that time were exempt from the tax but now are subject to it, county officials said. Letters outlining the terms of the deal, a mutual release form, tax forms and other information will be mailed today or Monday to 28,000 taxpayers who are on the county's personal property taxpayer rolls, said Jeff Laudenslager, director of the county assessment office.

Responding to angry homeowners who were overbilled for their property taxes, Borough Secretary Kathleen Gamble said she mailed out about 300 refund checks yesterday, totaling just under $24,000. At a special meeting Monday night, the Borough Council voted to give taxpayers partial refunds. "The checks have been printed since Aug. 18," Gamble said. "I was just waiting for council to make a final decision. " The mistakes were made at the beginning of the year, when homeowners were incorrectly taxed at the rate of 6.983 mills, rather than the approved rate of 6.5. That month, a tax conversion table based on this year's countywide reassessment showed that the 6.5 rate was also too high.

A down payment on a stereo. A new outfit. Dinner for one at Le Bec-Fin. Depending on who's talking, the $100 tax rebate that many Pennsylvania homeowners will receive this fall - if they file by tomorrow's deadline - could mean a small indulgence. But school-reform and child advocates in Philadelphia and across the state are hoping that the $100 checks would, instead, inspire people to think about their communities. More than 30 local organizations have joined the Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, which lobbies state and municipal governments on behalf of children, in a grassroots campaign to encourage homeowners to hand over their checks to financially ailing school districts.

Many Philadelphia homeowners will miss out on their $100 tax refund - unless they complete a form by Friday. A majority of Philadelphia homeowners haven't yet claimed the $100 rebates the state is offering to taxpayers who paid their school taxes. Philadelphia County's response rate of 31 percent is the lowest in the state for the Homeowners Rebate Program. Department of Revenue representatives will be at Sen. Vincent Hughes' Philadelphia office, 4601 Market Street, today and tomorrow, helping people file their rebate forms.

Education and what to do with the $100 rebates Several readers wrote to say that they were donating the $100 homeowner's rebate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the public school of their choice (Letters, June 16). This is commendable. I, on the other hand, intend to donate my rebate to the parochial school of my choice. This may inspire others to donate to the parochial system or school of their choice, and may prevent the closure of several schools due to underfunding, which in turn would place an additional burden on already overcrowded public schools.

Men and women often struggle to communicate with each other - off and on the job. In the workplace, those problems sometimes create disadvantages for women, according to a new textbook, "Management Communication," by Arthur Bell and Dayle Smith. The authors say businesses could benefit from listening more closely to women. For example, women lead by making suggestions. They explain those suggestions in terms of the good of the group. Men are more likely to lead by giving orders.

Retail stores rang up stronger sales in March for the eighth month in a row - a result of continuing mild inflation and a robust U.S. economy. Inflation remained restrained in March even as gasoline prices rose to more than $1 a gallon again. Meanwhile, Easter shopping and fat tax-refund checks helped keep retail sales advancing for the eighth consecutive month. The Consumer Price Index rose a modest 0.2 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday. The inflation rate for the first three months of the year, at 1.5 percent, held just under the 12-year low of 1.6 percent for all of last year.

Flush with tax revenues from a robust economy, Gov. Whitman will propose a relatively pain-free $19.16 billion state budget tomorrow that contains few new initiatives other than the first installment of her proposed $1 billion property tax rebate. With a $1 billion surplus and an expected $93 million this year from the recent tobacco settlement, Whitman proposes spending 4.3 percent more than the $18.36 billion in the budget for fiscal year 1999, which ends June 30. "With this, her sixth budget, it's fair to say that Gov. Whitman's vision of a government that balances fiscal prudence with social compassion has succeeded and is in full flower," John Farmer, Whitman's chief counsel, said yesterday at a budget briefing for the media.

Council agreed yesterday to pay Mobil Oil Corp. $15 million to settle a five-year tax dispute between the township and Mobil's localrefinery. During a special meeting, council members voted, 4-1, to approve the settlement as recommended by township lawyers. The township has until Jan. 31, 1999, to pay the tax refund. A schedule for payment is still being negotiated, said Greenwich Mayor Harry Rink. The township will most likely authorize a bond issue to pay back Mobil for overtaxing the oil giant from 1993 to 1997, he said.