Take Note

The Rich Stay Rich Two researchers report that the 1993 tax rate increase for the wealthy did not raise the $16.5 billion projected, but only $5.1 billion. The hike in the nation's top tax rate from 31 to 39.6 percent apparently prompted the wealthy to duck the tax collector by working less, taking more deductions and using other means to avoid the higher rate. Optimism Gender Related Women business owners are less optimistic than men about the state of the economy. KeyCorp., a Cleveland, OH-based banking company, found 50 percent of female entrepreneurs see the country heading in the wrong direction as compared to only 41 percent of men. The gender gap in optimism may be because women are more likely to start service-oriented businesses that rely on discretionary income spending. More Browsers than Expected Nielson Media Research, the prestigious television and advertising researcher, has reported 24 million consumers in the United States and Canada are on the Internet. That's 11 percent of the population over age 16 and far more than critics have claimed. A third of all Internet users are women, and the average user spends five hours a week on-line. Almost 18 million people use the World Wide Web with a quarter of those peeking at the on-line pages of their business rivals.

U.S. Workers Make More, Keep More Business Week reports that seven of 10 full-time workers in the United States are in occupations that saw real pay increases in 1995 as compared to only 14 percent in 1994. Better still, U.S. workers take home a bigger portion of their paychecks than do many of their counterparts in Europe where direct income taxes and other deductions are growing faster than salary increases. Deductions for taxes, social programs and benefits take about 28 percent of U.S. paychecks but as much as 46 percent in Denmark. Shopping Patterns More Focused Unless they can get it cheap, they're not buying. That was the conclusion of market gurus entering the holiday season. And it turns out shopping patterns are changing. Working women have become precision shoppers reducing mall visits from three a month to 1.6 and store visits from seven a month to just three. Among senior citizens, there are distinct gender differences in shopping. Older women are more likely to make buying decisions based on merchandise quality including price. Men, however, often choose a store for convenience and selection.