NAHB opposes latest tax reform bill
As the White House works with the GOP-controlled Congress to pass a tax reform bill, one group is no longer happy with the latest proposal: the NAHB.
"The House Republican tax reform plan abandons middle-class taxpayers in favor of high-income Americans and wealthy corporations,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “The bill eviscerates existing housing tax benefits by drastically reducing the number of home owners who can take advantage of mortgage interest and property tax incentives.”
The most recent GOP tax plan, unveiled today, would cut taxes by $1.5 trillion over a decade, supporters say. It would cut the income tax brackets from seven to four, ranging from 12 percent to 39.6 percent. It would drop the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.
But it eliminates the mortgage interest deduction for homes costing more than $500,000, a change that the NAHB strongly criticized.
“Home buyers in expensive markets will effectively lose this housing tax benefit moving forward,” MacDonald said. “The House leadership killed a cost-effective plan proposed by NAHB that Ways and Means Committee leaders agreed to include in the legislation. It would provide a robust home ownership tax credit that would have helped up to 37 million additional homeowners who do not currently itemize. Most of them are low- and moderate-income home owners.”
The National Association of Realtors was also displeased.
“Eliminating or nullifying the tax incentives for home ownership puts home values and middle class homeowners at risk, and from a cursory examination this legislation appears to do just that,” said association President William E. Brown.
No vote on the bill is currently scheduled, although supporters hope to send a final bill to the president by the end of the year.
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