Congress at Bat (Sen. Max Baucus)
July 22nd, 2008
Sen. Baucus is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Last week, millions of Americans tuned in to watch the best baseball players in the country battle for the 2008 All-Star Game crown. But while Americans watched the stars of baseball step up to the plate and swing for the grandstand, millions were more worried about the future of their own homes than about the runners crossing home plate. It’s time for Congress to step up to the plate and do our best for American homeowners. As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I’ve worked especially hard to include some very important tax measures in the housing bill that will help us break this housing slump.
One of the major symptoms of the housing slump is a glut of vacant homes on the market. By providing a repayable tax credit to first-time home buyers, we can help families buy their first homes while trimming back excess supply in the housing market. This credit gives the market the short-term energy it needs. This bill will also make the standard property tax deduction available to homeowners who don’t itemize their taxes, allowing 28 million people to claim the deduction, and maybe pay off a portion of that mortgage while they’re at it.
Besides the tax credit, state and local housing agencies can utilize $11 billion in additional mortgage revenue bonds to provide new homeowners with below-market interest rate mortgages, or refinance subprime mortgages for homes on the brink of foreclosure.
For low-income families, we’ll simplify some of the technical rules of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and let the credit be taken against the AMT. This will widen the field of potential investors in low income housing, and help more low income families get into an affordable rental housing.
We can accomplish all of this and more by passing the housing bill, and not a moment too soon. Congress needs to act now to end this housing slump. These tax measures will help us do just that.
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