| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 1, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- READERS REPORT
Let the 'Death Tax' Buy the Farm (int'l edition) Your ''Death, taxes, and the rich'' (Economic Trends, Jan. 11) cites the study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist James M. Poterba showing that the rich often overlook the simplest way to reduce estate taxes, namely, giving away property while they are still alive. The study illustrates the complexity of the ''death tax''--and the need to abolish it. This onerous tax has reached to the middle class, notably ranchers, farmers, and small-business people who may be ''land rich but cash poor.'' The elimination of the tax should be the first order of business of the 106th Congress, so we can stop tinkering around the edges with a tax that is burdensome, inequitable, and counterproductive. James L. Martin President 60 Plus Assn. Arlington, Va. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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