THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512060461
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Telephone tax filing to be widely available
For about 3 million taxpayers, filing a return to the Internal Revenue Service next year could be as easy as a picking up a telephone and punching in some numbers. The IRS announced Tuesday it will expand its TeleFile program nationwide for taxpayers filing their 1995 returns. Next month, 23 million taxpayers who use Form 1040EZ will be mailed special booklets giving them the option of filing by telephone. The IRS predicts that 3 million will take advantage of the program, up from 680,000 this year. For the first time, the process will be completely paperless. Taxpayers will end their call by using a personal identification number, which will substitute for a signature. Previously, taxpayers had to follow up a telephone return by mailing a signature form. To be eligible, taxpayers must receive a TeleFile booklet containing their personal identification number. They also must be single with no dependents, have taxable income of less than $50,000, have interest income of less than $400 and live at the same address as last year. (Associated Press)
Rubbermaid plans to cut work force by 9 percent
Consumer products maker Rubbermaid Inc. will cut its work force by 9 percent, or about 1,170 workers, and eliminate nine facilities in a restructuring. The moves, part of a two-year streamlining and reconfiguration of its manufacturing and distribution operations, will result in a fourth-quarter charge of $150 million. Rubbermaid said it hopes to produce savings of $50 million a year. Rubbermaid, with operations in the United States and Europe, did not specify which nine manufacturing or distribution facilities it would sell off or close. The consumer-products company said it would eliminate some products and consolidate European administrative offices into its European headquarters. Last year, the company posted earnings of $228.1 million, or $1.42 per share, on sales of $2.17 billion. (AP)
Fed, Congress focus on bank standards
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and some top House Banking Committee members on Tuesday suggested a toughening of bank regulations in response to the Daiwa Bank scandal. Greenspan and a top House Republican, Rep. Marge Roukema, R.-N.J., say stricter audit standards for banks may be necessary to uncover the type of fraudulent U.S. bond trading that caused $1 billion in losses in the New York branch of Daiwa, a major Japanese bank. The committee said that in light of Daiwa, the provisions allowing corporate insiders to sit on audit committees perhaps should be repealed. (AP)
TeleCheck same-store check sales fall 4.6%
U.S. sales to consumers using checks during the first 10 days of the holiday season fell 4.6 percent from a year ago as shoppers delayed purchases until later this month, said TeleCheck Services Inc., a check-acceptance company. Consumers wrote fewer checks and for smaller amounts when compared with the same period last year, the company said. Same-store check sales were down in every region except the Southwest, where sales rose 1.2 percent. TeleCheck's index is compiled on a cumulative basis for the holiday season and is based on total sales volume of check-writing consumers at a broad cross-section of retailers. (Bloomberg Business News)
RJR names Goldstone CEO; Harper remains
RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. unexpectedly promoted President Steven F. Goldstone to succeed Charles Harper as chief executive, effective immediately. The New York-based maker of Winston and Camel cigarettes said that Harper, 68, sought the change because of a family illness. Harper will remain as chairman. The move caps a lightning rise for Goldstone, a lawyer who was named outside general counsel in February. In October Goldstone was named president, one of three top executives reporting to Harper. Goldstone, who was also named a director, now must manage the country's No. 2 cigarette company and its top cookie and cracker firm. (Bloomberg)
USAA's No. 2 executive to leave at year's end
H.T. Johnson has resigned the No. 2 executive post at USAA, which to concentrate on the redevelopment of Kelly Air Force Base in Texas. Johnson, a retired Air Force general who is president of USAA Capital Corp. and vice chairman of the USAA board of directors, said he will leave USAA at the end of this year. Texas-based USAA operates a large insurance office in Norfolk. (San Antonio Express-News) by CNB