Home interest deduction - my head is spinning

The home mortgage interest deduction has become a whipping boy or girl for much of what ails the American economy. Some see it as a drag on the nation's finances, others as an engine. In any event, this blog post, The Sacrosanct Mortgage Interest Deduction appearing the Economix blog of the New York Times, will turn your head in two directions at the same time.

When people talk about “sacred cows” in the tax code, the deduction for mortgage interest is usually at the top of the list. But it is just one of many tax expenditures benefiting homeowners. Other important ones include the deduction for property taxes and low taxes on the gains from sales of primary residences.

Contrary to popular belief, the mortgage interest deduction wasn’t adopted to encourage home ownership. The original income tax enacted in 1913 allowed a deduction for all interest on the theory that it was largely business-oriented. According to Dennis Ventry of the University of California, Davis, School of Law, only a third of homeowners carried a mortgage in 1910.

OK, so now the writer, Bruce Bartlett, starts with the stats, comparing America with Canada and other countries.  So I am going to stop here and have you read the full article and the comments that follow.  That's where the most interesting ideas will be found!

For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us. We can help. Located in Fairfield, NJ, we are the title insurance agent that does it all for you.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow AT vested.com

Sphere: Related Content