om
you withdraw it.
Thi allow your mon y to
grow a t r. Wi th few excep­
tions you will in ur a 10 percent
penalty tax if you withdraw the
mon y fo age 59 and h .
401 (I<)
OTH
THAT
many people overlook when
trying to hide mon y from Uncle
Sam is company benefits, for ex­
ample, 401 (k) plans. Many
employers now offer thi retire­
ment avin vehicle. They per­
mit you to reduce you income up
to $8,500 without paying taxes
on it.
If you earn $2,000 a month
and want to contribute $100
towards your 401 (k), then you
will pay taxes on $1,900 vs.
S2,000, saving you money on
your tax bill. But be sure any
amount that you contribute to a
401 (k) can remain there, be­
cause an early withdrawal will
result in a 10 percent tax penalty.
If you have to withdraw the
money before age 59 and a half,
you also will be sUhject to a 10
percent penalty tax.
Municipal Bonds
Municipal bond are also a
good option. The interest earned
on these bonds i gen rally free
from federal income' tax and
some interest is exempt from
state and local income taxes.
Conservative investors
should compare the yield of a
municipal bond with the after­
tax return of other investments
like treasury bills, and CDs. It
may work out that these taxable
securities will actually earn you
more.
Many investors have lowered
thei r ri k of i nves ti ng in
municipal by purchasing shares
in municipal bond mutual funds.
CURRENTLY THEY ARE
yielding ahout 7 percent. Funds.'
to examine include the Price Tax
Free High Yield Fund and the
Dreyfus Tax-Exempt Bond
Fund.
Income Shifting
You can give, money to your
children and beat the tax man.
It is practical and legal to shift
income to your children in order
to shel ter money from taxes. The
first 550 of investment income
earned by children under 14 is
tax-free.
The next $550 is taxed at the
child's 15 percent tax rate.
It is therefore wise for parents
to consider hifting assets that
generate up to $1,100 worth of
income a year t') a child under the
age of 14.
BASED ON current interest
rates of about 6 percent, you
could invest up to $9,000 in your
child's name before you have to
pay any taxes on the income from
the investment.
Any amount over that, and
you would pay taxes at your
child's lower tax bracket.
Whatever way you choose,
hiding money from the govern­
ment by stuffing it in a mattress
is not the way to go.
Charles Ross is the host of the
nationally syndicated radio pro­
gram ''Your Personal Fiancee"
and the author of "The Best of
Your Personal Finance."
j
DOW CHEMICAL, USA, he d­
quartered in Midland, has two
. programs, Management Es e'ntials
and the .Employee Assi tance
Programs, which are well uited to
preventing mi communication from
e calating to a formal complaint
level.
"Dow IS a lot of store in having
informed supervi ors," said Gary
Jones, human resources communica­
tion manager. Since "people
managers" are the front-line in
employee relations, it is important
they be knowledgeable about policies
and act as a source of information for
the people who report to them, he
said.
In Management E sentials, a
BUSINESS FINANCE
Affirmative Action Plan
'i
BUT DO .,. programs, while
ot unique, are not found in all busi­
es.
Companies that subscribe to af­
rmative action policies should
ublicize it, said Mike Maher, case
apervisor for the Saginaw district
ffice of the department of civil
gh . An affirmative action plan
lould be designed to implement
rograms that assure equal and fair
-eatment for all employees or
rospective employees, according to
epartment documents.
"If you believe in it, promote it,"
faber said. But many cornpanie ,
ven ones with programs, do not want
Patrick SincolCAPlTAL NEWS S
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ources Department 0 Civil Rights
to talk bout affirmative action be­
cau e it can be so controversial,
Maher said.
The department' community er­
vice bureau attempts to prevent and
eliminate unlawful di crimination
through community outreach and
educational programs. A recent
erninar dealing with the new federal
Americans with Disabilitie Act and
the Michigan law drew more than
1 employers, Maher said.
Unfortunately many employers
do not want help from the depart­
ment, Maher aid. If they do any­
thing, they want to do it on their own.
Other companies completely ignore
the subject all together, he said. It'
generally smaller companie that do
little about discriminatory practices,
he added.
. a "hot eller" for the department said
Jim Horn, director of the office of
information ervices.
The brochure offers a step-by- tep
guide to creating effective equal
employment opportunity programs. _.,
Everything from workforce and
recruiting area analysi , to identify­
ing bias in recruitment and election
procedures to evaluating progre i
addressed.
FOR COMPANIE THAT
wouldlike to look into tarting a pro­
gram, th civil rights department of­
fers th brochure "B ic Step ." It is
Cas�illo proud of accompli hment
By JOE KOEING
c.p"" N.w. S.rv/ce
Civil Rights Commission," Castillo said.
"One of our priorities right now is to bring
down our workload in the face of state
budget cuts. Yet we feel strongly that
anyone who files a complaint with the
department should get processed as quickly.
as possible."
The department experienced a 9.2 per­
cent cut in funding {rom the state in 1991
and a 2 percent cut in 1992. Many state
agencies received a 5 percent cutback from
the state. Engler did not feel the department
could go through a bigger cut than 2 percent
after looking at the department's needs.
Castillo said.
Latin Americans filed 184 complaint
from October of 1990 to September of 1991
out ·of5,188.
Castillo does not think a reduction in the
department's case load will hurt its ability
to represent Michigan citizens. Castillo
LANSING-De pite state budget cuts and
economic hard times, John Roy Castillo has
made his mark on Michigan.
Castillo, director of the Michigan
Department of Civil Rights, is one of the
leaders of the Lansing community and
statewide Hispanic community.
A Lansing resident, Castillo has erved
as the head of the department since his ap­
pointment by the Michigan Civil Rights
Commission in 1986.
Castillo says he is extremely pleased
with his accomplishments with the commis­
sion and in the community. He stands firm
behind the record of the Civil Rights Com­
mission in its ability to represent people of
all races fairly.
"I AM very proud of the record of the
said the department hopes to shorten the
amount of time it takes to process com­
plaints. It also wants more of the disputing
parties to settle out of court which will help
those person who filed by speeding up the
. process, Castillo said.
A Port Huron native, Castillo's activism
in the Hispanic community, background in
state government and public service or­
ganizations reads like a list in Who's Who.
with the Wayne County Neighborhood
Legal Services.
He is former adjunct profe or at Cooley
Law School in Lansing, on the board of the
Michigan League for Human Services, the
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights and
the Cristo Rey Community Center. He'
graduated from Western Michigan Univer­
sity in political science and received his law
degree from Wayne State Law School in
1973.
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H JOINED THE Department in 1978 Castillo says when times are tough, such
a deputy director, legi lative and inter- as the current recessionary cycle the state
government liaison. Before that, he was and nation are facing, people often look for
a sistant attorney general for the Consumer scapegoats among persons of different eth­
Protection/Charitable Trust Division, where nic backgrounds.
he was a leading authority in that area f That's not Castillo's style.
tate law. The head of the Civil Rights Department
Ca tiilo also erved a the acting direc- . is a firm believer that, "nobody should be
tor, of the Michigan Spanish Speaking Af- treated as a scapegoat and all people should
fairs Commission and as a staff attorney be treated right, just and equally."
Black employees sue
Domino's for alleged
racial discrimination
ATLANTA (AP) - Nine cur­
rent and former Domino's
employees have filed a racial
discrimination lawsuit against
the pizza chain's parent com­
pany .and 21 of its Atlanta
franchises.
The suit filed Friday contends
the employees' civil rights were
violated by the Ann Arbor,
Mich.-based pizza delivery giant
and by Michael L. Orcutt of Al­
pharetta and several of hi
Two of the plaintiffs
have either quit or
been fired.
managers.
Orcutt owns 21 Domino's
restaurants, or about 25 percent
of the outlets in Atlanta, accord­
ing to the lawsuit filed in U.S.
District Court in Atlanta.
. The employees - all of
whom are Black - claim in the
lawsuit that they were sy temati­
cally denied raise, promotions
. and opportunities to buy avail­
able franchises. Two of the
plaintiffs have either quit or been
fired.
THE SUIT ALLEGES that
white employees were promoted
more quickly and given greater
opportuni ties.
Last December, three
separate but similar lawsuits
were filed in Fulton County Su­
perior Court against Orcutt.
·The suit says the plaintiffs
notified the parent company of
their complaints. "Domino's
Pizza Inc. has done nothing to
remedy the situation, thereby
ratifying the conduct," the 'suit
says.
Nei ther Orcutt nor hi
employee could be reached for
comment. Corporate officials
al 0 were unreachable.
The plaintiffs are demanding
back pay, compensatory
damages and punitive damages
"in a sufficient amount to deter
(Domino's) from engaging in
further di criminatory acts."
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