Taxable CDs are clearly a better deal

Scott Burns gave bad advice in his column when concluding that it was better to pay down a 3.75 percent mortgage than invest in a taxable 4.5 percent CD (''Paying down mortgage can be the best investment," Feb. 19). He failed to take into consideration the loss of the mortgage interest tax deduction when paying down the mortgage principal. Investing in a taxable CD with a higher interest rate than my mortgage interest will always be a better investment, assuming that all of the mortgage interest is tax deductible.

These should be elementary matters for any financial planner.

John L. Hodge
Jamaica Plain

Boston needs to stay competitive on a cost basis with other cities and states (''Mayor, executives brainstorm job growth," Feb. 28). Fidelity and others leave the city based on the cost of doing business. This will require reduction of taxes in some form. Menino and Romney need to have an ongoing dialogue with Fidelity about how to keep it here.

Delaware provides a great model. When confronted with a similar problem, that state designed laws around financial services. Delaware went to the major credit card companies and asked how they would like the laws to be written, then did so, and all of the companies moved to Delaware.

Tim Cook
Stamford, Conn.

I bet that none of the ideas to stimulate jobs growth included doing something about the onerous levels of property taxes in Boston on commercial and industrial real estate. The current rates are almost triple the tax on residential real estate. State tax rates on personal income and sales in Massachusetts are certainly competitive. The tax rate on personal income is less than half the tax rates in New York, California, and Rhode Island, where Fidelity is planning to move a significant share of its offices and employees.

Boston's local economy, however, so dependent on healthcare and higher education, cannot sustain high-quality local government services under current conditions. There must be a reordering of the tax/expense equations, with state government carrying a larger share of local education, and the Legislature giving cities and towns the tools required to control such fixed costs as healthcare and pensions, and to control the escalating costs of collective bargaining and other municipal expenses.

Business leaders are too timid to push state decision-makers into taking bold action.

Joe Slavet
Boston

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