Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
The New
York Times
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July 31, 2000, Monday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 18; Column
4; Editorial Desk
LENGTH: 165 words
HEADLINE: A Tax That Seems to Hit a Nerve
BODY:
To the Editor:
Re "The Moral
Sense in Estate Tax Repeal," by Alan Wolfe (Op-Ed, July 24):
It is surely true, as Mr. Wolfe suggests, that most American parents,
like most parents everywhere, have a deep desire to help their children
flourish. It is also true that Congressional Republicans have been trying to
exploit that desire as a way of generating support for repeal of the estate tax.
Yet repeal would primarily benefit those who are already in an unusually
good position to assist their children, even with the tax in place. And it would
do nothing for those Americans who have not taken part in the recent prosperity,
and who have no wealth to leave their children.
That is why many people
-- including many parents -- oppose repeal of the estate tax. And it is why we
should be wary of concluding, as Mr. Wolfe does, that repeal of the tax truly
"corresponds to the basic moral instincts of most Americans."
SAMUEL SCHEFFLER
Berkeley, Calif., July 24, 2000
http://www.nytimes.com
LOAD-DATE: July 31, 2000
