Congratulations on being ``scooped' by one of your Greensboro readers (letter by Annette Koluch, Nov. 25). She was the first to report the Happy New Year's present to surviving spouses for 1993 from the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate.
I am speaking of the Senate Bill 2257 and the House of Representatives Bill 4848 which were deliberately held back until after inauguration by Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, and House Majority leader, Richard Gephardt, D-Mo. These bills ``put people first' by lowering the estate tax exemption from $600,000 to $200,000.If you own a house, a bank account and an automobile, you may look forward to your estate paying a hefty 35 percent to 55 percent federal tax on the amount over $200,000 should you decease after Jan. 20, 1993.
President-elect Bill Clinton said that he would not raise taxes on the middle class ``to pay for his programs' but evidently Mitchell and Gephardt do not feel bound by Clinton's statement. Perhaps you now might report how Rep. Steven Neal and Rep. David Price voted on this measure.\ Ralph MacDonald Jr.\ Stoneville
