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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Thursday, February 3, 2000

Tax-form mistake costs state $70,000

The state Tax Department is spending $70,000 to rectify a mistake on a tax form. More than 200,000 1099-G forms were printed with a typing error that gives the wrong year. Instead of "1998," it reads "1988."

Tax Director Ray Kamikawa said the department missed an opportunity to find and correct the mistake before the forms were mailed out.

The department has new procedures to ensure the same type of mistake doesn't happen again, he said. Taxpayers receiving incorrect forms are being instructed to throw them away. New forms are being printed, and will be mailed next week.

Hawaiian Village helps Hilton's net

Hilton Hotels Corp. today reported a 14 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income, which it said was helped by good performance at its Hilton Hawaii Village Hotel.

Hilton had a profit of $25 million, or 7 cents a share, in the three months through Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $22 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Fourth-quarter revenues of $816 million were up 7 percent from $862 million.

Hilton said the Hawaii market was soft through last year but was showing improvement by year-end.

Mortgage rates steady at 8.25%

The average interest rate on 30-year mortgages held steady at 8.25 percent this week, matching last week's rate, according to a survey released today by Freddie Mac, the mortgage broker.

Two weeks ago, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 8.26 percent, the highest since Sept. 13, 1996.

Fifteen-year mortgages inched up this week, with an average rate of 7.85 percent this week compared with the average rate of 7.84 percent last week.

One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged an initial rate of 6.65 percent this week, the same rate as last week.

In other news . . .

Warner-Lambert Co. has tentatively agreed to a sweetened $85 billion takeover offer from Pfizer Inc.