You Read it First at FrumForum
The Obama administration is considering cutting the tax break for mortgages, a move predicted here at FrumForum.
The popular tax break for mortgage interest, once considered untouchable, is falling under the scrutiny of policymakers and economic experts seeking ways to close huge deficits.
Although Congress last year rejected the White House’s proposed cut to the amount wealthier taxpayers can deduct for home mortgage interest payments, the administration included it again in its 2010 budget — saying it could save $208 billion over the next decade.
And now that sentiment has turned against all the federal red ink — and cost-cutting is in vogue — Democrats on President Barack Obama’s financial commission are considering the wisdom of permanent tax breaks such as the mortgage deduction and corporate deferral. Calling them “tax entitlements,” senior Democratic lawmakers have argued they should be on the table for reform just like traditional entitlement programs Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.
The Hill, June 8, 2010
Since the 1980s, the mortgage interest deduction has been steadily squeezed. Once available in unlimited amounts on multiple residences, now it applies only to the first million of debt on a principal residence (plus another $100,000 in home equity loans).
This deduction reduces federal revenues by about $100 billion, with the greatest relief being conferred on the wealthiest households. While a direct attack on the deduction would trigger mass outrage, especially at a time of weak housing prices, a revenue-hungry administration might be tempted to shave another slice off the deduction.
Last year, the administration raised the threshold for Fannie Mae “conforming loans” from the old $419,000 to $729,750 in expensive real estate markets – effectively reducing the interest rates paid by many upper-middle-income families. Lucky them. Now it may be payback time.
Suppose the administration lowered the maximum deductible loan amount from $1.1 million to that same $729,500. In one step, it would add the interest owed on that $370,000 to the adjustable gross income of upper-income mortgage holders. Since the top tax rate paid by those same people will soon revert to almost 40 percent, the scaling back of the deduction could extract a big new tax bite.
Gotcha.
David Frum, FrumForum.com, April 15, 2010