Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992 TAG: 9203170310
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: B/8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
People across the country are rejecting Bush's decision to unilaterally lower their refund checks from the Internal Revenue Service or put them in the position where they could owe the government money.
They are deluging corporate and government personnel offices to undo what the president did. And many of them are angry that they have to go to the trouble because of what they see as an election-year ploy.
"I think it's just stupid, like `No new taxes,' " said Colleen Barber, an elementary school teacher in Grand Rapids, Mich., who likened the tax change to Bush's broken tax pledge of the 1988 campaign. "It's just a game."
In its zeal to provide Bush with a step he could take on his own to boost consumer spending, without congressional approval, the White House did not calculate that many Americans have carefully arranged to overpay their taxes to make sure they get something back at the end of the year.
No official notification of the change has been made, but the IRS will advise taxpayers later this year if they appear likely to fall short when the bill comes due in April 1993.
In many cases, the amount of extra money is so small - it averages between $3.50 and $7 a week - workers have hardly noticed a difference.
by CNB