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What the Germans Are Up To

I don't know about you, but I like to keep up with the business scene abroad, in accordance with the old axion that "what goes around, comes around." A lot of dumb ideas that get their start in foreign countries end up affecting our bottom lines here in the good ol' USA. In this instance, however, the Germany government seems to have done just the opposite: taken a lesson from our free-market system in eliminating a cumbersome tax on business. The left-wing Schroeder government has announced plans to repeal a punitive levy assessed whenever businesses sell their holdings in other companies. With the tax burden off their backs, businesses in Uncle Fritz's homeland will be able to consolidate more easily and capital will be freed up for new investments. That's good news for the Germans and good news for the world economy. And that means this one time I can cheer on our European cousins, instead of ruing the day we took our boots off their throats and let them back into the world economy.

Wed, 29 Dec 1999 07:35:57 -0800