A hefty 94% of investors said they are unfamiliar with the implications  of the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act, a survey found. 
The study, released this week, was conducted for Dreyfus Corp., the $120  billion mutual fund unit of Mellon Bank Corp. of Pittsburgh. 
  
The study also found that though 85% of respondents said taxes play an  important role in investment decisions, only one-third said they have a   good understanding of the tax implications of investing.   
The Taxpayer Relief Act created the Roth Individual Retirement Account,  which lets individuals make after-tax contributions to retirement accounts.   Traditional IRAs are pretax vehicles.   
  
The study, conducted by Response Center, a market research firm in  Philadelphia, surveyed 1,000 mutual fund investors with a median age of 45   and median household income of $63,000.   
Separately, Dreyfus is issuing an educational booklet, "10 Tips for Tax  Smart Investing," and other material to raise investor awareness.