Take Note

Postage Rates to Increase in '98 Higher postage rates are probable by early next year with the first class rate going from the present 33 cents to 35 cents and the parcel post base rate expected to increase four percent. But the cost of metered mail could come down. A Postal Service program, called Information-Based Indicia Program, would allow businesses to download metered postage via the Internet and generate electronic stamps from their computers with software costing less than $200. Home Buyers Want It 'Loaded' Americans have opted for larger homes. The average new single-family home has grown from 1,645 square feet in 1975 to 2,095 square feet 20 years later. Even more important, buyers want their homes loaded. Among the most desired options are a state-of-the-art kitchen followed by walk-in closets, fireplace, in-ground pool, Jacuzzi, game room, workshop/ hobby studio and a high-tech entertainment center. Stressed Out One of four workers, men and women, now say they are stressed at work every day. Their biggest causes are: 56 percent worry about the company's future, and 46 percent worry about being laid off. In response, 40 percent of employers now offer some form of help in handling stress. Unfortunately, many companies just put a stress reduction brochure into pay envelopes or schedule a single lunch-time seminar.

On the Tax Front •Estate taxes will take a bigger bite each year because they are not indexed for inflation, claims the Joint Tax Committee in the U.S. Congress. Ten years from now about 73,200 estates will be affected, more than double the present number. Estate and gift-tax receipts have been averaging double-digit growth rates since 1993. •Republican leaders are endorsing retroactive cuts in capital-gains taxes. Senate GOP tax cutters want to slash rates retroactively to January 1. •In Oklahoma, a House bill would help small business by offering tax credits to any business that increases total payroll between $20,000 and $1 million a year. Most Major Firms Now Require Drug Testing About 80 percent of major firms now require job applicants and employees to undergo some form of test to determine if they take illegal drugs. However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues that testing methods are both inaccurate and ineffective in significantly reducing on-site drug use, absenteeism or accident rates. ACLU is expected to increase media pressure to examine the process of workplace drug testing and the rights of employees dismissed as a result of those test results.