美国一些富人说保留遗产税.doc

18. Keep Estate Tax,Some of America’s Richest Say President will make his case1 for his ＄ 1.6 trillion2 tax cut plan, delivering a speech at a community center in St. Louis. The proposal would slash3 federal tax rates across all levels of income, eliminate the so- called marriage penalty4 and phase out5 estate taxes. Democrats complain that the plan--which would cut the top rate from 39 to 33 percent --would disproportionately6 benefit the wealthy and unnecessarily squander7 expected budget surpluses8.Some of the richest Americans are urging Congress not to repeal the estate tax, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.(Feb. 14) 　　About 120 wealthy Americans had signed or supported a petition9 to oppose phasing out the tax. President Bush has included the repeal of the tax in his ＄ 1.6 trillion tax-cut proposal. Normally when “ dozens” of Americans join in a political cause, it is not particularly noteworthy, but in this case the dozens include: George Soros, a billionaire financier; Warren Buffett, an investor listed as Americas fourth-richest person; the philanthropist10 David Rockefeller Jr.; and William Gates Sr., a Seattle lawyer and father of Americas richest man, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates. 　　It was refreshing to see Buffett and George Soros and a number of other extremely wealthy luminaries11 stand up in opposition to President Bushs proposed repeal of the estate tax. While the policy has some emotional attractions--it would protect the inheritors of some small businesses from having to sell the companies to pay taxes, and it is true that most people have been taxed on their savings once already--in practice the tax repeal would mainly be a windfall12 for a very small number of very, very rich people. 　　Buffett and company cite these factors in their petition calling for opposition to the estate-tax repeal. They also discuss something thats equally emotional and far more complex: the principle of meritocracy13. The idea that everyone in America