Congress risks further danger to the housing market and the economy if it reduces or eliminates the mortgage interest deduction and makes other tax changes that could hurt home owners. President Obama’s bipartisan Federal Deficit Reduction Commission this morning released its final plan, which calls for significant reductions to the mortgage interest deduction.
The report of the commission, which was created earlier this year to map out ways to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion by the end of the decade, is slated to be voted on by commission members by Friday. Although it’s not clear the final report will be passed, since passage requires a vote of at least 14 of its 18 members, it’s imperative REALTORS® make their voice heard now. That’s because individual recommendations like cuts to MID and other programs impacting home ownership could be included in federal budget legislation in early 2011, without regard to what the commission does.
More information on NAR’s efforts to protect home ownership and to preserve MID and other federal programs that reflect the country’s historical commitment to home ownership is at Home Ownership Matters on REALTOR.org.
