America the Tax Haven

A new law aims to lure money from overseas investors

On the surface, the tax bill that President Reagan signed last month is a timid, election-year effort to shrink the fearsome federal budget deficit, expected to be about $175 billion for fiscal 1984. The legislation aims to boost Government revenues by $50 billion over the next three years through such steps as raising liquor taxes and reducing business deductions for luxury cars. But buried in the fine print of the 751-page 1984 Deficit Reduction Act is a fundamental change in the way the tax code treats foreigners who invest in the...