PROSPER THROUGH TAX PLANNING

A low-key tax guide for the relatively affluent--without the creativity of B. Ray Anderson's How To Save 50% or More on Your Income Tax--Legally (p. 1217) or, more important, the up-to-dateness (and overall polish) of Robert Garber's The Only Tax Book You'll Ever Need (p. 1320). This year's tax bill, unconsidered by Buechner, makes it harder for families to deduct medical expenses, brings withholding to dividend/interest distributions, tightens the rules on uninsured casualty losses, and reduces the short-run liquidity of annuity contracts. Buechner, a Cincinnati-based tax attorney, nonetheless has his strengths. A proponent of ""holistic"" tax planning, he proceeds systematically from personal finance to estate considerations to tax avoidance in business. (Extraprudent in most respects, Buechner cites lots of deductible benefits for the tax-wise entrepreneur.) Also included is a lengthy audit of individual credits and deductions--with prime advice on how to make the best tax use of marital breakups. Otherwise, the text covers familiar ground--IRS-approved retirement plans, tax shelters, trusts, charitable contributions, etc.--in competent, if often demanding, fashion. An also-ran overtaken by events.