39For A, in the basic medium, -COOH loses a proton to become -COO-, which gives a +I effect. This weakens the acidity of the proton which is on the carbon alpha to -OH. Hence the proton is not taken and the alpha-halogenation does not take place as planned. So no haloform test.
On the other hand, B will not be affected by carboxylate anion's inductive effect as such, as the -OH group is further from it. Inductive effects weaken with distance.
