Page 2-Friday, July 28, 1978-The Michigan Daily HOU SE COMMITTEE APPROVES LEGtSLA TION W Wa ao day the B to e firs rea Home sellers may get tax break per cent of taxpayers who claim the An apparent majority of the commit- for profits realized from the sal standard deduction. tee contends that existing capital gains person's principal home. There ASHINGTON tAP) - The House The committee also reaffirmed a taxes have stymied investment which, tax if the profits are invested in ys and Means Committee approved decision taken weeks ago to eliminate in turn, has damaged the economy. home within 18 months. For pers nce-in-a-lifetime tax break yester- the income tax deduction for state and Present law taxes one-half of capital and older, a portion of the gaini 'for persons who make a profit when local gasoline taxes paid. The amen- gains at the same rate applied to the free even if no new home is purcha y sell their homes. dment to delete the deduction repeal taxpayer's other income. For most per- If the provision voted by the coi y voice vote, the committee agreed from the bill was rejected. The sons, the first $10,000 of the second half tee becomes law, most persons, r exempt from capital gains taxes the Treasury estimates ending the deduc- is exempt from any tax; that above dless of age, who sell their pri; t $10,000 worth of profit that is tion would increase revenues by $1.1 $10,000 is subject to a "minimum tax" home would face no tax at all. lized when a person's principal billion annually. of 15 per cent. But even that group of persons e of a is no a new ons 65 is tax- ased. mmit- regar- ncipal would home, owned and occupied for two years or more, is sold. A PERSON could take advantage of the tax break only once in a lifetime. Two-thirds of the tax reduction, costing about $750 million a year, would go to persons with annual incomes of $15,000 to $50,000. Those earning $30,000 to $50,000 would get about one-third of the benefit. The provision was approved as the committee sought to wrap up work on a tax-cut bill that has been stymied by the panel's inability to agree on how much of a tax reduction to vote for capital gains. IN OTHER action, the committee, re- versing an earlier decision, defeated an amendment that would have allowed those who take the standard deduction on their income tax returns to deduct charitable contributions separately from taxable income. The vote was 22 to 15. Reps. Barber Conable (R-N.Y) and Joesph Fisher (D-Va.), offered the amendment as an incentive for more Americans to contribute to charity. The proposal, which would have cost the Treasury $2.2 billion a year in revenues, could have benefitted the 75 THE BROAD disagreement on treatment of capital gains has centered not on profits from the sale of a home but those realized when stocks, real estate and other investments owned a year or more are disposed of. IN THEORY, the regular tax and the minimum tax can mean a total tax of about 49.1 per cent on capital gains. In practice, however, the average rate is about 16 per cent. There is a special tax break already face a much smaller tax because another amendment approved by the committee earlier in the week would exempt from taxation any inflation- caused increase in the value of an asset. That provision would take effect in 1980. Benson Ford dies of heart attack DETROIT (AP) - Benson Ford, a brother of Ford Motor Co. Chairman Henry Ford II and a grandson of auto industry pioneer Henry Ford, died early yesterday after suffering an ap- parent heart attack. Ford, 59, was stricken while aboard his boat, which was docked in Cheboygan, a resort community at the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, the company said. He had been in poor health for several years. HIS WIFE, Edith, was with him when he died. Benson, second son of the late Edsel Ford, was a vice president of the Ford Motor Co., chairman of the firm's dealer policy board and a director. He headed the Lincoln-Mercury Division from 1948 to 1955. He was not under consideration as a successor to the company's chairman- ship in 1982 when Henry Ford II, 61, plans to step down. BENSON CITED his health in ex- plaining several years ago why he was not interested in Henry's job. He was hospitalized in 1974 suffering from heart angina, a condition marked by recurrent pain in the chest caused by a sudden decrease of the blood supply to the heart muscle. The other brother, William Clay Ford, 52, was recently named chairman of Ford's executive committee and joined a troika consisting of Henry II and deputy chief executive officer Philip Caldwell atop the firm. HENRY II and William Clay were in Europe on business but were to return home immediately, the company said. Benson Ford held more than 1.8 million shares of a special Class B stock in the company. The family stock represents just 12 per cent of the equity in the company but carries 40 per cent TiE MICIGAN DAILY Vol. Lxxxvi. No. 5:-S Friday, July 28, 1978 is edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan. News phone 764-0562. Second class postage is paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. Published daily Tuesday through Saturday morning during the University year at 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. Subscription rates: $12 September through April (2 semesters) ; $13 by mail outside Ann Arbor. Summer session published through Saturday mor- ning. Subscription rates: $6.50 in Ann Arbor; '7.50 by mail outside Ann Arbor. of the vote. Benson Ford joined the family firm in 1940, dropping out of Princeton Univer- sity after two years. After serving in the Army during World War II, he returned to Ford Motor and became a vice president. He was a former national co- chairman of the national Conference of Christians and Jews and received citations for his efforts on behalf of religious and racial tolerance. He was active in Detroit civic and cultural af- fairs. In addition to his wife, survivors in- clude a son, Benson Jr., 29; a daughter, Lynn Alandt, 25; and a sister, Josephine Ford, whose husband, businessman Walter Ford II, is unrelated to the automotive Fords. Plans for a funeral were not announ- ced immediately. An Alternative Periodical A. Retre And Book Shop ee CELEBRATE WITH US Three ears ago our shop oened in Davids Books. is month we moved from Charing Cross into our own larger space. Celebrate with us on Saturda, July 29 from 10 to 6. Refres ments will be served and there will be a:... 100 DISCOUNT ON ALL OUR STOCK A Periodical Retreat 3361/2 S. State St. (above A2 Music Mart) P4lae 663-0215 207 E. LIBERTY 663-8611.