European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes april columns comments David Broder tax Reform could vastly alter local government in the coming debate on tax simplification and there will be emotional and hard fought Battles Over the deductions and exemptions for Char Itable Home pm Ployer financed fringe benefits and Many other provisions of vital interest to partic ular interests and sections of the but there is one other prospective fight that has a different dimension to be cause it involves a debate about the constitutional basis of this and particularly the relationship of the state and local governments to the the Issue is the continued deductibility of most state and local taxes on Federal income tax it is no Small matter in fiscal almost billion in added revenues would flow into the trea sury if the deduction for stat local taxes were ended according to a recent study by the advisory commission on intergovernmental relations this makes it one of the genuine big ticket items in the tax simplification de the governmental Issue is at least As Large As the fiscal As Daniel has deductibility of stat local taxes was built into the Federal income tax almost 75 years in explicit recognition of the principle of federalism under lying the compact that formed the even at the minimal level of the original income the framers of the legislation were prepared to acknowledge that Washington did not have a preemptive claim on the resources needed to sustain by making stat local taxes deductible on the Federal Congress was deliberately giving its partners in the state capitols and City Halls the first crack at James Kilpatrick computer dont laugh the Pool of available tax As we All that decision has not curbed the appetite of the Federal tax or Washington spending this the first peacetime year in which the Federal budget deficit has exceeded the total tax collections of the 50 there is a Strong push to renege on or curb that original agreement to stat local tax for those like this who have championed the role of state and local government and welcomed the growing capacity they have shown in recent years to meet their the argument raised by Moynihan and others in defense of continued deductibility is a powerful but it is not the Only and the acir report offers a valuable guide to those seeking to sort out this important it dramatizes the importance of deductibility As a source of funds for the in fiscal year for tax deductibility represented about one fifth of All Federal Aid direct and Indi rect state and local if you add the exemption on interest paid on state and local deductibility reaches half the level of direct in deductibility reduces the Cost to the taxpayer of state and local taxing and acir estimates that if it were stat local spending would fall about 7 percent a year others think the effect might be much but proponents of Federal tax Reform Point out that the rate reductions promised by their plans would ease that effect and leave More room for state local for those who Welcome activist stat local there is Little question that curbing deductibility would have something of a chilling but the Impact would not be Felt at All evenly among states or among i divid so there is an equity Factor to be considered As upper income tax payers residing in High spending states with relatively progressive tax structures gain the most from deductibility under the present tax the acir study prepared by Daphne Kenyon Points new York is one of those along with Massachusetts and it is not a coincidence that Moynihan and new York Mario a demo have been so vocal on this because the wealthy Are much More Likely to and the deduction is Worth More to them in their higher Feder Al tax deductibility of stat local taxes gives them a double it Means they get a bargain on the state local services they Purchase through their taxes and it Means they Are benefited by the Federal tax break As those equity questions cannot be Dis but neither can the federalism issues that Are embedded in this Contro resolving the deductibility fight May be As Tough As anything in the tax implication and it will shape the future of government in this country on All c 1985 Washington Post writers group on behalf of he has offer for Gorbachev Washington continues to sputter Over the Exchange Between soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and president the general feeling is that the presi Dent acted too hastily in his negative i have drafted another reply my dear let me thank you most warmly for your kind and generous conveyed through the columns of pravda and translated into English by you said that starting with this which by sheer coincidence happened to be known to Many of us in the West As easter the soviet Union is introducing a moratorium on the deployment of its intermediate Range the you would expire in novem you called upon the United states to Stop its deployment of such missiles in you the United states would be guilty of striving to wreck the military As i this is indeed a kind and generous i cannot Praise it too i wonder How Tass will translate that last sentence i cannot Tell you How deeply we Are impressed by your some of my notably Patrick Tell me you Are engaged in Public prop at present we and our nato allies have 80 cruise missiles deployed in each of these has a Range of Miles each has a single we also deployed 63 Pershing ii these have a Range of Miles these too have a single according to our old fashioned this gives us a total of 143 the soviet by now has 276 ss20 missiles aimed at each of your missiles has a Range of Miles each carries three who is a wizard with tells me that 276 times three equals 828 i have a better and now that Buchanan has left the let me propose it to Why dont were going to wild wafts 5y5iek a a Inch of to of 5one of our tic bomb strikes we Stop this nonsense let us proceed at once to scrap two thirds or three fourths of All our nuclear the whether by our mathematics or by would remain Why not i do not know what is inside these bombs and but after the atomic stuff has been i expect there is a considerable Quantity of a Good Deal of Copper and a few brass some tin plate and maybe a chromium we would have one monstrous Heap of superlative my dear together we could erect at some suitable site in Europe the most impressive Monu ment to Folly the world will Ever see the Folly of our 40year race in nuclear with i must reject your will you also reject mine o1985 Universal Syndicate