Mortgage-Interest Deduction is Safe Once Again!
December
09
2010
A Congressional committee was recently tasked with developing ways to lower our National deficit. Similar to past actions, the proposal was to cut significantly into the mortgage-interest deduction in order to free up revenue that could help bring down the deficit. Many in Washington see mortgage-interest deduction as “low hanging fruit.”
The good news is that once again that proposal has been rejected. Your Realtors® nationwide have been diligent in fighting this on behalf of all homeowners in America. I will tell you however that this is mostly not a dead issue and will come back once again.
Let’s be really honest here, you and I as home buyers and homeowners view the mortgage-interest deduction as a big incentive for owning a home. Each year, we are able to deduct our mortgage interest from our income tax bill. It is the single largest subsidy for housing in the U.S., and is projected by some to reduce tax revenue by $131 billion in 2012.
Because of the stand we took, I believe that we staved off some major consequences on an already sluggish residential real estate market. I predicted in a previous blog that the Carolinas hit the bottom in October and are hopefully moving upward from here on out. Taking away a major incentive, like the mortgage-interest deduction, would likely have brought down demand. We are still just too fragile for a move like that. In fact, the National Association of Realtors projected that these proposed changes would have pushed home prices down another 15 percent.
There are members of Congress who will not let this go in the future. Elimination of the mortgage-interest deduction would lead to huge profit for the government without impacting the tax rate card. Join us and speak to your elected delegation and let them know where you stand. As you prepare your taxes this year, look at the deduction and imagine if it was gone. It almost happened right under our noses.
The tax wars have only just begun and rightly so because we have out spent beyond our means. Like we do at home, we have to reduce expenses; and as a government elected by the people, and paid for by the people, it should be examining ways to help taxpayers – many of whom are jobless or are dealing with decreased earnings – while also trying to fix its own massive budget woes. It’s not an easy situation. But let’s not forget the powerful force that housing is in the overall economic landscape. Until Americans have confidence in homeownership, the biggest investment that most of us have on this earth, this economy will go nowhere. Yesterday we got one step closer to bringing that confidence back.
The good news is that once again that proposal has been rejected. Your Realtors® nationwide have been diligent in fighting this on behalf of all homeowners in America. I will tell you however that this is mostly not a dead issue and will come back once again.
Let’s be really honest here, you and I as home buyers and homeowners view the mortgage-interest deduction as a big incentive for owning a home. Each year, we are able to deduct our mortgage interest from our income tax bill. It is the single largest subsidy for housing in the U.S., and is projected by some to reduce tax revenue by $131 billion in 2012.
Because of the stand we took, I believe that we staved off some major consequences on an already sluggish residential real estate market. I predicted in a previous blog that the Carolinas hit the bottom in October and are hopefully moving upward from here on out. Taking away a major incentive, like the mortgage-interest deduction, would likely have brought down demand. We are still just too fragile for a move like that. In fact, the National Association of Realtors projected that these proposed changes would have pushed home prices down another 15 percent.
There are members of Congress who will not let this go in the future. Elimination of the mortgage-interest deduction would lead to huge profit for the government without impacting the tax rate card. Join us and speak to your elected delegation and let them know where you stand. As you prepare your taxes this year, look at the deduction and imagine if it was gone. It almost happened right under our noses.
The tax wars have only just begun and rightly so because we have out spent beyond our means. Like we do at home, we have to reduce expenses; and as a government elected by the people, and paid for by the people, it should be examining ways to help taxpayers – many of whom are jobless or are dealing with decreased earnings – while also trying to fix its own massive budget woes. It’s not an easy situation. But let’s not forget the powerful force that housing is in the overall economic landscape. Until Americans have confidence in homeownership, the biggest investment that most of us have on this earth, this economy will go nowhere. Yesterday we got one step closer to bringing that confidence back.
