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NAHB Chair Joe Robson Blasts Obama Proposal to Reduce Mortgage Interest Deduction
NAHB fears proposal to reduce mortgage interest deduction to fund health care initiatives will adversely affect home sales
News Release
February 26, 2009
HousingZone
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), today issued the following statement on President Obama's proposal to reduce the value of the mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions for home buyers and home owners in order to pay for an expanded health care initiative: "With the housing market still reeling from its worst downturn since the Great Depression, this is not the time to talk about raising taxes on home buyers and home owners. This proposal will increase the cost of housing for many middle-class families, particularly in high-cost areas such as California and the Northeast, which will only further undercut the housing market, exert more downward pressure on home values and work against the President's efforts to stabilize housing and turn this economy around.
"The proposed budget would also tax a 'carried interest' as ordinary income, which could significantly impact the multifamily and commercial real estate sectors at a time when they are already experiencing a severe downswing. At this critical point in the recession, we should be doing everything we can to stimulate demand in housing and avoid proposals that would reduce housing affordability and further destabilize prices.
"The notion of 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' just won't work. Not when the stakes are so high with our economy. This week alone, existing home sales dropped another 5.3 percent and new homes sales plunged 10.2 percent. Inventory of unsold homes is at an all-time high. Financing health care reforms by chipping away at the mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions is certainly not the answer. This will only hurt the ailing housing market and U.S. economy."
© 2009, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
