Quantcast
Get news, sports and politics alerts

Click here to manage your alerts
Cherished mortgage interest deduction faces a rework
Housing » Specter of scaling back tax break alarms some, draws praise from others.


< Previous Page


"For people of my generation, the baby boomers, from the time we were kids we were told by the federal government and its policies to build our nest eggs around housing," said Gerald M. Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, one of the strongest supporters of the deduction.

"Now our elected officials are going to tell us in the name of tax simplification they’re going to further reduce the value of our housing by 10 to 15 percent right as we’re about to retire?" Howard said. "When you make that kind of case to lawmakers, you should see their eyes widen."

Photos
At a glance

Higher taxes for the rich

Taxes will rise for wealthy Americans next year. It’s just a question of how much. › E2

Join the Discussion
Post a Comment

But a lot of that concern is based on the misconception that the deduction is a benefit for average Americans, critics said.

"This is a sacred cow to the real estate industry, and it’s almost an entitlement to homeowners," said Anthony Sanders, a real estate finance professor at George Mason University. "They could cut it in half and it would not harm a lot of middle-income households."

An analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation found that 78 percent of the $83 billion in mortgage interest deductions in 2010 went to households with income of more than $100,000. Households with incomes of more than $200,000 got 35 percent of the benefit.

The average savings from the mortgage interest deduction was $2,454 in 2010. But for households making more than $200,000, it was $6,370.




Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Top Reader Comments Read All Comments Post a Comment
Click here to read all comments   Click here to post a comment


About Reader Comments


Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.
Staying Connected
Videos
Jobs
Shopping
Contests and Promotions