Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PAGE 2—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. ('., Thursday, Nov. 5, 1970 ®hr Nnubrrrii 1101 Boyce Street, Newberry, South Carolina 29108 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY O. F. Armfield, Jr., Owner Second-Class Postage Paid at Newberry, South Carolina SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 83.00 per year in advance; six months, 82.00. COMMENT on Men & Things B> J. K. BREED!N One of the foremost trea sures of any community is a foremost man of noble char acter. Our splendid little city of Sumter recently suffered an ex ceptionally sad loss I have re ference to the passing of Edwin S. Boyle of Sumter; he was a foremost man m every call of duty. Mr Boyle was an exemp lary citizen m all that eoneorns a citizen. he was a noble exam ple of a Christian gentleman and he excelled in every rela tionship. he was extraordinary ot every erasp of public af fairs, he was a successful man m all his undertakings. 1 had the good fortune to know Mr Boyle because he and Bo ra r d Britton were very close friends and associates and 1 also cherished Bozard Britton. Now. both of them have been called to the Celestial Kingdom 1 sometimes think of the big men I have known 1 may not mention all of them but going back to my boyhood I remem ber the late Dr. A Toomer Por ter ot Charleston, along with the great Dr B. Barnwell Khett, a physician who honored the whole realm of medicine; 1 know a number of splendid men from all parts of the .State, but at the moment 1 can t think of an equal to Dr Porter or Dr Rhett When 1 was a law student 1 think 1 joined most of the boys as regarding the lauding of M. Herndon Moore as the outstanding professor of law Some other men can think of outstanding bankers, and 1 know some of them too but at the moment I cannot think of ano ther such man as Edwin Boyle along with If M Ed wards I think I have heard all my life that the government never docs anything right If you would examine what kind of a bit ot foolishness the govern ment Mas imposed upon the pu blic schools of today you would think you are confirmed in those cark impressions of some of the absurd recent acts of the government I have no doubt that the same lack of wisdom aphes to all concerns of the ivernment but in this case I mi tin iking primarily what has been done with the nation's ed ucational system. Cp to about ten years ago we seemed to be trying to evolve plans that would seem to re commend themselves to people of practicable mind and com mon sense, but I am remind ed of something I used to hear a man say. expressing himself in Spanish Sentidocomun es masraro de dos los sentidos (common sense is the rarest of all the senses). And so I be lieve The average man is convin ced today that all this rear rangement of pupils is so half- baked that it is close kin to foolishness. In the rural county of my residence we have many fine new brick schools empty, while bussing children from that community to other schools that are over crowded and hav ing to spend money to enlarge. How foolish the government can be! Contrary to casual impres sion, I think the colored schools in my county were doing very well. I should say that w'hat the government has done with schools is almost unbelieveably foolish. Income Tax Information (This is the first in a series of three articles on Personal Exemptions and Dependents.) The amount of a personal exemption is designated as a matter of law in Section 151 of the Internal Revenue Code. In spite of popular belief, the a- mount of deduction allowed has no relation to the cost of living. Congress has, from time to time, changed the amount of personal exemption. For years prior to 1970, the amount was $000. For 1970, the amount is $()2f). and the amount will in- erease each year until $750 is reached in 1973. where it will remain until changed again by the Congress. Exemptions are deductions which are deductible on your Federal tax return in the same amount as dependency deduc tions. but they are based on conditions other than support and relationship factors such as govern dependency deductions. THE BLIND EXEMPTION 1 i vmb sir: cm fill 1 i An additional exemption is al lowed oil a Federal tax return for a taxpayer who is blind. To qualify for this exemption, the central visual acuity must not exceed 20-200 in the better eye with corrective lenses, or the visual field must be no greater than 20 degrees. If you are totally blind, a statement to the effect should be attached to your return. If you are partially blind, you should attach a statement to your return from a qualified physician or registered optome trist stating that your vision is no greater than that stated a- bove. THE AGE 65 EXEMPTION A taxpayer who is a U. S. citizen or resident who was 65 or older on the last day of the year may claim an additional exemption for age. It is impor tant to note that you are con sidered to be 65 on the day be fore your birthday; hence, those who become 65 on January 1 may claim the additional exemp tion for the preceding year, LIMITATIONS The additional exemptions for blindness and age are allowed only on the return of the person involved. You may not claim the age and blindness exemp tions for a dependent. However, the additional exemptions may be claimed for your spouse if a |oint return is filled. EXCEPTIONS If you had income from V. S. possessions and elect to treat it as exempt income, you are allowed only one personal exemption. You may not claim exemptions for your spouse or dependents, or for age or blind ness. EXEMPTION FOR SPOUSE Your spouse is not considered to be your dependent for income tax purposes. For this reason, you may not receive an exemp tion for your spouse who has income subject to tax, regard less of the amount, unless a That s the only basis on which you do busi ness with any insurance agent. But when we add integrity, honesty, experience and skill ... you see why more people do business with us than ever before. We Would Like To Be Your Agent. “YOUR RRIVATE BANKERS” 1418 Main Street Rhone 276-1422 joint return is filed. If your wife (or husband) received any taxable income during the year, all the income and withholding credits of both must be listed on a return, signed by both, in order to receive credit for both exemptions. The only alternative is to file separate returns, each claiming his own exemption. In certain instances, the to tal tax may be less if separate returns are filed. This occurs where there are large medical expenses which must be reduced by 3 per cent of adjusted gross income to arrive at the net me dical deduction. In this case, the reduction in the amount ap plied against your medical ex pense may be more beneficial than claiming your spouse’s exemption on a joint return. This factor should always be checked before deciding to file joint or separate returns. In case of your spouse's death during the year, if he (or she) had no gross income, you may claim the exemption on a joint return, or on a separate return if the spouse was not the de pendent of another taxpayer If your spouse had gross income and you claim the exemption, you must file a joint return, in cluding both incomes. Patrol to watch for pedestrians A sudden surge in the num ber of persons killed on South Carolina highways while on foot has brought about a request from Highway Patrol Colonel P. F. Thompson that all patrolmen give “primary attention" to pe destrian law enforcement. “I have asked members of the Highway Patrol to be es pecially on the lookout for in toxicated pedestrians." Colonel Thompson also asked traffic officials in South Caro lina counties, towns and cities to give special attention to laws since the majority of pedestrian injuries and deaths occur in ur ban areas. The four-day period from Oc tober 23 through October 26 dramatically focused attention on the dangers to pedestrians who walk on and near streets and highways. During this pe riod. Department records show that seven pedestrians lost their lives while only one person rid ing in an automobile or truck was killed. One other fatality during this period was a motor cyclist. Highway Department records show there has been a 6 per cent increase in pedestrian fa talities so far in 1970 over 1969 pedestrian deaths. In September and October a- lone there was a 41 per cent increase in pedestrian fatalities over the corresponding period in 1969. Other statistics indicate three distinct problem areas in pedes trian deaths—The younger group under 19 years of age, the older group over 60 years old and the drinking pedestrian. The younger group, that is up to nineteen years of age, accounts for 42 per cent of the total pedestrian fatalities with 17 per cent of this group being of pre-school age. The older group—61 years of age and up accounted for 20 per cent of the fatalities. The 20-60 age bracket made up 38 per cent of the fatalities. In this group, 66 per cent had been drinking. Through October 24 of this year, 139 pedestrians had lost their lives as compared to 131 for the same period last year. Highway statistics show that 8 per cent of the total had either mental or physical handicaps and that 38 per cent of the to tal had been drinking. Highway Department Officials urged drivers to exercise great er caution on streets and high ways by watching constantly for pedestrians. Slow down and be ready to stop when there is someone walking nearby who ma\ step out in front of you. Persons on foot were urged to abide by safe walking rules, basic ones being: When crossing streets or roads, look three ways. left, right, and behind you for turn ing cars. Never cross streets in the mid dle of the block. Always use the crosswalks at street corners. Cross streets only when the light signals tell you it's safe. Where there is no sidewalk, always walk as close as possi ble to the left edge of the road facing traffic. Never go out into a street or highway from between parked vehicles. When walking at night, always carry a light or something white to help drivers see you. In coun try areas particularly, walk on the shoulders, well off the pave ment. ( olie Dowd prepares notices to be sent to delinquent taxpayers. Dowd said fifteen days will be allowed before action is taken. He pointed out that in the case of personal property persons applying for new automobile licenses signed a statement that all taxes had been paid. Those not paid wull be turned over to the State Highway department which in turn will issue notices of driver’s license revocation. In the case of real estate taxes action will be taken to obtain a lien against the property and if necessary the property will be sold at auction to satisfy the tax lien.—Adv.