The proposed tax reforms announced last week in the US Congress have been met with caution by two of the real estate industry’s largest organizations
The proposed tax reforms announced last week in the US Congress have been met with caution by two of the real estate industry’s largest organizations.
The National Association of Realtors says that it is concerned that changes may affect millions of homeowners, especially middle-class owners, and says it remains committed to protecting homeownership.
In a statement, NAR president Elizabeth Mendenhall said:
"While we are still reviewing the outlines of this proposal, we are watching closely for changes to current law that might leave middle-class homeowners – and homeownership broadly – in a worse place than it is today. We’ve already seen that a near-doubling of the standard deduction, combined with the elimination of other deductions like the state-and-local tax deduction, can turn the American Dream into a nightmare for families, as the rug is pulled out from under them. Simply preserving the mortgage interest deduction in name only isn’t enough to protect homeownership.”
She added that tax reform should reflect America’s belief in homeownership.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Home Builders Association, Granger MacDonald said that while the House bill is not something the association supports, the Senate version was a positive development.
“However, though the Senate bill provides meaningful tax relief for small businesses and keeps the complete Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program in place, we still believe that maintaining an effective homeownership tax benefit is vitally important. NAHB will continue to work with lawmakers to achieve this goal as the legislative process moves forward,” MacDonald said.
