211 - MANCIIKSTER HKRALD. Mcmdiiy. .liin, 21. 1SB5 MANCHESTER CONNECTICUT WEATHER B U S IN ES S Winchester mall Artists are wanted Peters proposes still cold tonight; remains on hold for vets park contest grand jury changes warmer Wednesday ... page 9 ... page 2 Travelers get a break page 3 ... page 11 Follow these tips on the value added tax have paperwork to do. that you spend a minimum amount to apply for the • Save all your receipts and charge slips. No Value added tax: three little words that can be refund, (When in France awhile ago, I was caught in fumbling here. translated into "bargain" for Americans traveling this “ Catch-22.” I ended up with more perfume than I overseas in this era of an extraordinarily strong dollar • When you depart the country, get to the airport Your wanted; more brands than I cared for; and a V.A.'T. early so you can show the forms to customs officials and a variety of\oods and services to buy abroad. too! Then I had to rush for my plane, undoubtedly But you m ay-^sily overlook this tax — and in fact (you may have to produce the item, too). Especially If UlanrhrHtpr I m l i Money's leaving behind some chortling salespersons.) you may never even notice you’ve been charged or you are traveling during peak months summer ) Tuesday. Jan 22, 1985 — Single copy: 25<H Moral: Ask the clerk what the requirements are coming up — allow plenty of time to get the required you’ve paid it. Worth before you buy. And look for signs prominently forms and stamps. The value added tax, or V.A.T., is a government displayed in the window (printed, not hand-lettered) surcharge on goods and services. The tax is the sum of Sylvia Porter • You may, as an alternative, be able to by^ss advertising “ tax-free shopping.” local customs and return the forms after you arrive amounts added to the price of an item at every stage of To complicate matters further, even for sophisti­ production. cated travelers, not only is there no central list of • You may avoid this workload by using your credit Typically, only citizens have to pay the V. A.T., and which countries charge V.A.T. (and how much, plus countries on your itinerary. You also can write to the card. Zoners OK you, as a visitor, usually can get a refund. But the refund procedures), but each nation has its own • After you charge your purchases, fill out the ^ I Big freeze amount of the V.A.T. is included in the prices you pay national tourist office or local consulate for information. Stalking the V.A.T. is worth your effort! method of refunding any money due to you. V.A.T. form and complete the ritual of stamping and and it’s likely you won’t know what percentage of the As a rule, you don’t get the refund until after you total is due to the tax. Moreover, getting the refund to In Britain, for instance, the V.A.T. is 15 percent on mailing it in. Eventually, the refund will show up as a most goods (excluding books, periodicals and return home — but there are exceptions and they re 245 of 452 which you’re entitled is neither automatic nor, in credit, in dollars, on your account. confusing. many countries, is it easy. packaged goods). In addition, you pay a V.A.T. on the But whdn you do get a cash refund, which can ts*® price of meals and lodgings, although you can’t get a While there is no one way to recover the V.A.T., you several months, you’ll have to cash the refund check can refer to this all-purpose method and adapt it as hits Florida Most Western European countries — including refund on these expenses. that will be made out in the currency of the countrj^ needed. town condos England, France, Germany, Italy, and the Scandina­ Then you’ll have to find a bank to convert the refund Each country sets its own rules, so the percentage 2 vian nations — charge a V.A.T. So do Israel and 2 • When you purchase an item, show your passport into dollars. By Susan Vaughn countries elsewhere in the world popular among will vary from one country to the next. And even and request a proof of purchase or a V.A.T. refund If it sounds like a burden, it often is — and you may Herald Reporter Americans. within a country, the amount of the V.A.'y. may vary form. The store clerk may mumble because the clerk resent it. But it can pay off. And when the trip is a Before you leave home, ask your travel agent for according to the category of goods and services. may have to fill out part of the form. You certainly will memory, the dollars will be real. ’The Planning and Zoning Commission Monday citrus crop advice and current information''about a V.A.T. in What’s more, in many places, stores can require night approved construction of only 245 units of the proposed 452-unit Brentwood Condominium complex oft Buckland Road and Tolland Turnpike because of By William RIes Gordon J!ait, National Weather the development’s possible impact on traffic. United Press International ServicqJor^aster in Philadelphia. Business Stranded workers Commission members approved a zone change for “ But we’lK be in sort of a cold 2 48 acres from Rural Residence and Residence AA to An arctic cold wave that froze regime for the next several days.” Planned Residence Development and the general the Midwest and eastern United More cold weather was expected In Bnef plan of development up to phase eight of the 14-phaSe States with the coldest tempera­ in the Southeast with record lews set up own firm project. • tures of this century eased its icy possible. Orange, grapefruit and llie developers are Lawrence A. Fiano and Thomas Fisher named president grip today, but more cold des­ vegetable crops from Louisiana to Rubin I. Fisher of Manchester has been named J. Crossen Jr. cended on Florida, destroying Florida were covered with ice or “ We talked to a lot of guys who told us Fiano said today he is not concerned about the limits president of the Personnel Management Associa­ By Dennis O’Shea much of the citrus crop. frozen solid. , getting this thing going was going to be placed on the plan. He said he plans to have additional tion of Central Connecticut, the group announced. United Press International At least 66 people have died in Demoralized Florida citrus a bear. Now we can testify to that,” traffic studies done which he will bring to the Fisher, of 79 weather-related accidents nation­ growers gave up hope that some of said Graham, who, like his partners, i commission. He said he is confident that additional Strawberry Lane, is SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Their jobs left wide since Saturday. Emergency the crop could be salvaged after has also put up his own money. “ We’re phases of the plan will be approved once the PZC has an assistant direc­ town. They didn’t want to. shelters and soup kitchens from temperatures today dipped into in hock up to the hilt.” more information. tor in the personnel When Torrington Co. decided to Florida to New England reported the teens and 20s. The loan money came just in time to ’The developers will face another hearing on the plan administration de­ move its South Bend-based heavy fuir'houses as the homeless and “ Usually growers commiserate buy equipment at a Torrington auction, for consideration of the next phases of construction. partment of the Tra­ bearings division early last year, those without heat sought refuge. with one another, but this time for a fraction of what they might have The commission expressed concern about the velers. A graduate Charles Graham, Bernie Janicki and In Gary, Ind., 151 people were they’re keeping to themselves,” paid on the open market. traffic impact from the project on Tolland Turnpike of the University of Don Yandl all had offers to move with injured Monday night when two said Stephanie Bouls, a grove Bearing Repair rented out 10,000 and North Main Street. Connecticut, he is a it. commuter trains collided in an caretaker. “They usually check square feet and got to work. By i ’ If > In its review of the proposed development, the former chairman of But they weren’t particularly inter­ accident that officials blamed thermometers, and they’re not November, the company had shipped ■. f » planning department had recommended that Tolland the Manchester Hu- ested in going either to Torrington’s partially on the bitter cold. even doing that — they’re just its first completed repair job back to an Turnpike be widened and reconstructed at phase nine m an Relations Connecticut headquarters or to plants The eastbound and westbound staying in their houses." Alabama company. Of the project. Carol Zebb, assistant director of Commission. in the Carolines, where the Ingersoll- trains in the accident were using Residents in Florida, Massachu­ Since then, it has filled a dozen more planning, said Monday that testimony showed that The association Rand Corp. subsidiary was consolidat­ the same track because of power setts and Ohio were asked to cut orders from companies around the more than half of the traffic from the development membership in­ ing its manufacturing operations. lines downed by the frigid weather.