March 20, 1979

Gov Carey's plan to cut personal and business taxes in NYS by $372 million over next 5 yrs seems dead as result of opposition in both houses of State Legis; main objection to tax pkg is fear among legislators that state will run into serious budgetary problems in '80, election yr, if it does not hold line on both spending and tax cuts; Richard Roth, aide to Sen Majority Leader Warren M Anderson, Repub, and Assembly Ways and Means Com chmn Arthur J Kremer, Dem, comment on Legis's position; also apparently doomed is Carey's proposal to postpone increase to $750 from $700 personal exemption on state income tax (M)

FCC hearing officer Walter C Miller, in highly unusual move, rejects rate application filed by AT&T and orders co to change way it calculates rates by adopting 86-page manual that he issues; application is for tariff covering private line service used by large agencies and businesses, including press services, broadcasting networks, Western Union and Fed exec agencies; Miller's ruling is latest in 3-yr running dispute between FCC and Bell System over way that charges are computed, with Govt demanding more specific information about costs so that it can be sure that businesses pay their full share of phone line services (M)

Henry Ford 2d says he will relinquish his duties as chief exec officer at end of yr, meeting with Australian Ford dealers; does not disclose whether he will continue as chmn; por (M)

Walter Sullivan article on changes in plants at beginning of spring; says plants presumably are activated by changes in temperature and not by growing length of day; illus (L)

Fed Drug Enforcement Adm reptdly sought to have unidentified inmate in Calif prison help entrap S M Rifkin, suspect in computer bank fraud, to win inmate's freedom so that he could infiltrate organized crime groups supplying 'front money' for several large narcotics smuggling operations in Far West (M)