WASHINGTON — At 87, entertainer Art Linkletter isn't thinking about slowing down.
"I travel 200,000 miles a year. I speak 70 times a year. I write a book about every three years. I've got 26 books I've written. I run five businesses. I sit on boards of directors. I'm a regent at Pepperdine University," the showbiz legend continued on and on, naming other jobs.
He added a new one Friday: Washington anti-tax crusader.
Linkletter, speaking on Capitol Hill on behalf of the conservative United Seniors Association Inc., called for the elimination of the federal estate tax, also called "inheritance" or "death" taxes.
Taxes paid on inheritances from parent to child range from 18 percent to 55 percent on estates up to $10 million, with everything above that taxed at 55 percent.
"It's immoral," said Linkletter, whose television show "People Are Funny" ran for 10 years starting in 1955, and his daytime "House Party," which included the segment "Kids Say the Darndest Things," appeared on CBS for 26 years. "Why should people who've spent their lives trying to assemble something have it all taken away when they pay taxes on it all the way through?"
Rich people hire lawyers to find ways around the taxes, so it primarily affects the middle and lower classes, he said. House Republicans plan to bring up a measure this summer to slowly phase out estate taxes.
Linkletter, who was ambassador to Australia under President Reagan, also said he plans to support Texas Gov. George Bush for president. "I generally approve of what he's been doing," Linkletter said. "I think (Vice President Al) Gore's a good guy and OK, but I think we've had that kind of party operating long enough as president."