Government spending needs controls
By John Sledge
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
Sound financial planning is a
geoal of every family. Sure, there
"re times when an unwise purchase
is made or the budget is overspent.
We regret it later as we "pinch
pennies" to get the finances back
in line.
Our federal government is much
the same as the errant family that
has overspent. But instead of occa
sionally, it is every day and year
after year.
We should and must expect
sound money management from
our elected representatives as they
manage local, state and national
government.
Over the years, many of our tax
dollars have been diverted to non
essential uses. When money begins
to run short, the government must
then come back to citizens saying
another tax increase is needed to
supply basic services. This seems to
occur all too often at local, state
and national levels.
Is government trying to do too
much? Are we being taxed beyond
what is reasonable? If federal taxes
remain the same or are lowered, is
there justification by local units of
government to raise taxes because
the flow of money from
Washington is slowing down?
? NOTICE ?
ALL HOKE COUNTY RESIDENTS
* PROPERTY TAX LISTING *
N.C. State Law Requires That You
List Property For Tax Purposes As Shown Below
WHEN TO LIST -
Beginning at 8:00 A.M. January 2, 1985 through 5:00 P.M. January 31,
1986 at the locations noted below.
(? Extensions of time to list may be granted upon written request and for
valid reason.)
WHO MUST LIST - ALL Residents: Military and Civilian.
- All persons owning Real or Personal Property in Hoke County must ap
pear before the tax listers for their township during the period of January
2, through January 31, 1966 to list their property for tax purposes.
- FAILURE TO LIST will subject taxpayer to a fine of $500.00 or imprison
ment not to exceed six months.
- All mobile home owners must list and obtain a registration decal.
- All mobile home park and aircraft storage facility, must furnish to the
tax Supervisor the name of the owner of each aircraft or mobile home
and a description of each by January 16, 1986.
- NOTE: Military personnel may be exempt from personal property tax if
they submit proof that their "Home of Record" is other than North
Carolina.
WHAT TO LIST ? ALL Real and Personal Property.
- All property owned as of January 1, 1986 must be listed.
- All real property including buildings and improvements, end machinery
permanently affixed.
- Household furniture, appliances, T.V.'s, air conditioners, fans,
diamonds, and jewelry, typewriters, boats and motors, trailers, etc.
- Farm equipment, livestock, poultry, supplies and products in storage.
etc.
? Motor vehicles: all automobiles, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles,
campers, etc.
- Business Personal Property: merchandise, finished goods, equipment,
furniture and fixtures, goods in process, raw materiels, samples, etc.
- Inventories are reported as of the latest completed fiscal yeer if the
business year ends on a date other then December 31.
? ALL OTHER TANGIBLE PROPERTY NOT SPECIFIED
WHERE TO LIST - ?vtm~np
All Township* List At TVmi Tax Offica, 227 N. Main Street
(Beside Southern National Bank)
Monday thru Friday 8:00 A.M. til 6:00 P.M.
Saturday 8:00 tfl 12:00 Noon
?. . "?
Tax Supervisor
f**; ; s'?U; . .v; $
Municipals could be safe bet
With the stock market off and
running again, and interest rates
falling, where does a person invest
to receive a relatively high rate of
return with a good degree of safe
ty?
The answer could be Municipal
Bonds.
Municipal Bonds are debt in
struments issued by state and local
governments and agencies, carry
ing a fixed rate of interest that is
free of federal income tax. If you
purchase municipals issued by a
municipality, like the City of
Raeford, City of Raleigh, or any
North Carolina Municipality, the
interest is exempt from North
Carolina state and local tax also.
Generally speaking, there are two
types of bonds available: general
obligation bonds (GO's), which
are backed by the full faith and
credit of the issuer, and revenue
bonds, which are issued to fund a
particular project by a specific
agency, that promises to pay in
terest and repay principal from the
revenues it collects as a result of
the project.
The most attractive feature of
Municipal Bonds is the tax free
current income they generate.
They normally pay interest at a
fixed rate known in advance, and
the income these bonds provide
need not even be reported on your
federal personal income tax
reports.
Municipals also give you a high
degree of liquidity. If you wish to
sell them, there is usually a very ac
tive secondary market. Bonds are
also considered excellent collateral
View From
The Market
Joseph P. Davis III
if you wish to borrow against
them.
Municipals differ from cor
porate bonds basically because of
their tax-free status. Both offer a
high degree of liquidity, and both
are usually rated by Moody's and
Standard and Poor's. Corporate
bond yields are usually higher due
to the tax-free earnings you receive
from Municipals.
Maturity dates range from 1 tt>
50 years. Virtually any maturity is
available but generally the longer
the term of the issue, the higher the
yield.
Interest is paid on Municipals
semiannually on the first or the fif
teenth of the designated month.
The last interest payment is paid
on the day the principal is due.
There are two forms of pay
ment. Bearer (or coupon) bonds
carry coupons that must be clipped
as they come due. In order to
receive payment, these coupons are
presented to the issuer, usually
through a bank who serves as an
agent.
The other method of payment is
automatic, by check. Bonds which
pay interest by check are called
registered bonds. This system of
payment is convenient and since
July 1, 1983 all bonds are issued in
registered form.
Bonds are traded in denomina
tions of $5,000 or more, but some
older bonds do trade in $1,000
lots. Bonds trade much the same
way as stocks do. They are under
written by major firms, then sold
to principal dealers who are linked
by the over the counter (OTQ
market to other brokers and bank
offices around the country. The
aggregate par value of outstanding
Municipal Bonds exceeds $430
billion.
Municipal Bonds are priced by
the market for them. Good old
supply and demand prices bonds
based on rating, length of time to
maturity, the interest rate the bond
pays, and other factors affecting
the market at that time.
Any investor who is in a higher
than average tax bracket should
give serious consideration to
Municipal Bonds. The higher your
tax bracket, the more real benefit
you derive from any tax free earn
ings. Example: a person in a 33?7o
tax bracket who could get a 91* tax
free yield would need a taxable
equivalent yield of 13.4%. One
more thing: "when approached to
buy Municipals, select A-rated or
better bonds, especially if you are a
new investor.
Editor's Note: Joseph P. Davis
III, formerly of Raeford, is an ac
count executive with Dean Witter
Reynolds Inc. of Raleigh. Davis,
who is the son of Hester R. Davis
and the late Joseph P. Davis of
Raeford has a Bachelor of
Business Administration Degree.
Davis and his wife, Rebecca,
presently live in Raleigh.
Americans commute 22 miles a day
Wc read that Americans com
mute an average of 22.4 miles per
day round trip to work, with cars
and trucks the overwhelming
choice for transportation, a survey
by Jertz Corp. showed recently.
NITZE NAMED . . . President
Reagan's negotiator, Paul Nitze,
was named to serve as adviser to
Secretary of State George P.
Shultz in exploratory arms talk
with Soviet Foreign Minister An
drei Gromyko.
RESOLUTIONS . . . Americans
make resolutions at the beginning
of each new year. Some view the
process with cynicism, knowing
most of the resolutions will be
broken.
But resolutions signify that the
maker seeks to improve. In that
sense, they're an indication of
good intentions.
New Year's resolutions, then,
kept or not, are a good idea.
That's what life is all about --hope
and effort, for improvement.
THE NEW YEAR . . . January,
one of the two months added to
the calendar (then ten months)
long before the birth of Christ, is
the first month of the year of the
Gregorian Calendar (dating from
Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.)
Caesar had set the length of the
year at 365 days centuries earlier;
German Protestant states made the
change in 1790 and England and
Cliff
Blue
People and Issues
the American Colonies in 1752 ?by
act of Parliament.
January is the first full month of
winter, sometimes the coldest
month of the year (if February
isn't) and, in America, the month
of football bowl games.
WHO SAID THAT? ... The
House Intelligence Committee
decided that the CIA's Nicaraguan
rebel manual broke a 1982 law bar
ring U.S. efforts to overthrow
Nicaragua's leftist government,
but that the book revealed
"negligence, not intent to violate
the law."
TEACHERS . . . Some teachers
can be dangerous to your child's
health, reports the Health In
surance Association of America.
Dr. Richard Krugman, of the
University of Colorado School of
Medicine in Denver, said a study
of third and fourth grade students
found they had undergone definite
personality and behaviorial
changes within two weeks after an
"emotionally abusive" teacher
was assigned to their class.
The research told the Associa
tion that some of these changes in
cluded excessive worry about
school performance, from positive
to negative self-preceptions, and
the onset of headaches, stomach
aches, nightmares, and
withdrawal.
Dr. Krugman's advice to parents
is to take their children's com
plaints about school seriously.
"The problem may be a teacher,
another child, even someone on
the school bus," he said, "and it's
up to you as a parent to know
about any abuse."
RETIREMENT BONUS . . .
"Many workers receiving health
insurance benefits through their
company's group policy can expect
coverage to continue after they
retire," reports the Health In
surance Association of America.
MARRIAGES DROP ... For
the first time in nearly a decade,
marriages in the U.S. are on the
decline, reports the American
Council of Life Insurance.
Preliminary figures from the
National Center for Health
Statistics indicate that a drop in
marriages, which fell from
2,444,000 in 1983, is continuing in
1984. ?
The Center said there hasn't
been a decline in U.S. marriages
since 1975.
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