Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 7, 1991 TAG: 9102060213
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Is it still possible to send packages to the Middle East for servicemen? B.P., Roanoke.
What items can we send overseas in a care package for servicemen and women? What items are they desperate for?
Since the air campaign began, CNN said not to mail packages. Is this true?
> Military officials have requested that families and friends of servicemen deployed in Operation Desert Storm voluntarily limit mail to first-class letters (in flat envelopes weighing 11 ounces or less) and audio cassettes.
The request was issued Jan. 18. At that time, officials said they expected it to be temporary but to last at least three weeks.
The action was taken to reduce the risk that items would be lost, damaged or delayed while troops were on the move.
We will notify readers in this column as soon as the limit request is lifted. And we'll list items service personnel want most.
Where can corporations and businesses send a large donation of one item, like a single use or "disposable" camera? C.O., Roanoke.
The Defense Logistics Agency has a donation hot line for people who wish to send items in pallet-sized loads. These shipments still are being made, said Lt. Col. Wyatt of the DLA. For information on what can be sent and how to send it, call the hot line at (703) 274-3561.
Military personnel serving in the Persian Gulf will not have to file their 1990 federal income taxes until 180 days after they leave the gulf. What about their wives who file jointly?
Those filing jointly with military personnel serving in the Persian Gulf won't have to file federal returns until their spouses do, an IRS spokesman said.
President Bush has designated the Persian Gulf area and surrounding waters as a combat zone. That means enlisted personnel will not have to pay income taxes on any of their military pay earned there since Jan. 19, 1991. For officers, the first $500 per month is tax-free.
The same incomes also will be exempt from state taxation, said Anne Meyers, information officer with the Virginia Department of Taxation. Also, state returns, including joint returns, need not be filed until 180 days after the military personnel leave the gulf, Meyers said.
State tax laws vary. Military personnel filing in another state should contact its taxation office.
(Information provided by Landmark News Service).
If you have questions about anything from Persian Gulf geography and climate to effects on the price of gas or how to write a member of a military unit, call the Mideast Hot Line at\ 981-3313 leave a recorded message. We welcome other contributions - tips for coping, letters and photos from loved ones overseas, ideas for boosting their morale. Send them to\ MIDEAST HOT LINE, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va., 24010. note that items sent to us cannot be returned.
by CNB