6 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 05/
LETTERSSOURCE
:^ P
OL
L^ SURVEYED^214
KI
PLINGER’S^ READERS.If you think taking the new
standard federal deduction
will save you time and work,
think again (“Our Guide
to Saving on Your Taxes,”
March). I found that by
using tax-preparation soft-
ware and skipping itemized
deductions, the software
had nothing to pass through
to my state return. To cor-
rectly determine your state
income taxes, be certain
to enter all your itemized
deductions.
HAROLD SHANNON
ALOHA, ORE.
Long-term-care insurance.
As insurers attempt to
cherry-pick the lowest-risk
customers and, at the same
time, increase premiums,
they continue to shed exist-
ing policyholders and dis-
courage potential new
customers (“How to Afford
Long-Term Care,” March).
The companies’ strategic
assumptions in the begin-
ning were seriously f lawed,
and the federal government
still has not provided the
tax (and possibly reinsur-
ance) support that encour-
ages people to buy these
policies. As a result, Medic-
aid will have to pick up the
bulk of coverage —exactly
the opposite of what was
intended by developing this
industry.
ROBERT HANSEN
DELMAR, N.Y.Affordable home prices?
When I read that home
prices in San Francisco are
considered undervalued,
I quickly checked the date
on my magazine—it had
to be an April Fools’ joke
(“Home Prices Take a
Breather,” March). Your
contention that “homeown-
ers’ incomes in the Bay
Area have historically been
in line with its cost of liv-
ing” assumes that all San
Francisco residents have
six-figure high-tech jobs.
But real people also live
here. I hope no one reads
your article and decides
to move to San Francisco
expecting to find a nice,
“median priced” home for
$860,000 only to be shown
shacks for sale in that price
range.
FRANK RIDLEY
SAN RAFAEL, CALIF.A complex investment. Elimi-
nating the downside risk of
annuities is a huge sellingpoint at seminars and in
advertisements (“Dinner
and a Sales Pitch,” March).
The raft of litigation sur-
rounding indexed and vari-
able annuities is testimony
to their complexity, leading
to situations in which the
seller does not adequately
explain the product, the
buyer does not comprehend
fully what is being ex-
plained, or both. When I
was a member of Pennsyl-
vania AARP’s Statewide
Consumer Task Force, I
wrote a detailed descrip-
tion of the products and
their potential pitfalls. I own
two of these products (now
annuitized) because I am
an informed amateur. For
most people, I can only say
“caveat emptor.”
RICHARD SAUNDERS
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA.CORRECTIONS
The 2019 estate tax exemption for
Connecticut is $3.6 million, the ex-
emption for Minnesota is $2.7 mil-
lion, and the exemption for Rhode
Island is $1.56 million (“Smart Ways
to Handle an Inheritance,” April).Fidelity Investments now offers
mutual funds with an expense ratio
of zero percent. Neither Fidelity
nor Charles Schwab & Co. offers
zero-fee ETFs (“The Legacy of John
Bogle,” April). Don’t Skip State Write-Offs
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Letters to the editor may be
edited for clarity and space,
and initials will be used on
request only if you include
your name. Mail to Letters
Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal
Finance, 1100 13th St., N.W.,
Washington, DC 20005, fax
to 202-778-8976 or e-mail
to [email protected].
Please include your name,
address and daytime tele-
phone number.READER
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