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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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7

Congress Weighs Wider Home Tax Credit

$8K for first-time buyers may jump to $15K, apply to all sales

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(Newser) – With the tax credit for first-time homebuyers set to expire in November, congressional efforts to increase it and broaden its reach are ramping up, reports USA Today. Chris Dodd, who leads the Senate Banking Committee, supports a proposal to raise the credit to $15,000 and extend it to all buyers. The measures have wide support, but the fact that they cut tax revenue may make the concept a tough sell.

"It is so important that housing come back, but raising the tax credit will be difficult because it reduces taxes even more," said an economist. Provisions included in three different proposals involve combinations of increasing the tax credit—currently capped at $8,000—and extending it into 2010. "I think it's going to be a bipartisan effort," said one real estate CEO. "The issue is how to pay for it."

A sign indicating a pending sale is displayed in front of a home in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday, June 2, 2009.
A sign indicating a pending sale is displayed in front of a home in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday, June 2, 2009.   (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
In this photograph taken May 13, 2009, a sold sign is posted outside a home in Cincinnati.
In this photograph taken May 13, 2009, a sold sign is posted outside a home in Cincinnati.   (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd, D-Conn., left, speaks in Washington, Thursday, June 18, 2009. The committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. is at right.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd, D-Conn., left, speaks in Washington, Thursday, June 18, 2009. The committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. is at right.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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7 comments
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IN RESPONSE:
BeatBlaster
Jun 22, 09 9:57 AM CDT
Hey Corona. I'd take you seriously if you simply refrained from using the term "socialist." The second I read terms used in a derogatory fashion there is a degree of credibility that is lost. What is a knot head?
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
AClotfelter
Jun 22, 09 12:05 PM CDT
wow.... Corona king??? I haven't seen you around in awhile... thought you were dead. Anyway... it's strange that a "free-market" advocate would demand that the government fix the issue with the housing sector. This is one situation where the old conservative talking point of "government isn't the solution" is actually true... while tax breaks might help the sector a little, the problem with the housing market goes a lot deeper than tax breaks. Bottom line? People are broke, so they can't afford houses. Many people can't qualify for loans under the more realistic and stringent mortgage guidelines these days. Any artificial means of recovery in the housing market will only server to set things up for the next collapse by getting people into homes they can't afford.
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IN RESPONSE:
ultramarine13
Jun 22, 09 1:55 PM CDT
Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly don't count as academic writers. They are entertainers, at best. And the problem, if you think back a while, had it's roots in the financial system. Although I'm not an economist, what I understand happened is that the banks did two things; they made credit far too easily available, leading to the famous toxic assets, and the overleveraged themselves, lending at 30 to 1of their financial capital, whereas the banks that aren't failing are leveraging at more like 8 to 1. And by the way, our neighbors to the north, those "Socialist Democrats" in Canada, they aren't having nearly the same problems that we are. Maybe there's something to socialism after all...
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
Fondue
Jun 22, 09 9:42 PM CDT
So you use academic terms, but to antagonize and be derogatory. That's sad because sometimes you and I agree. It's almost as if there's some sort of political bi-polar disorder going on.
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-3
kokuaguy
Jun 22, 09 1:06 PM CDT
And the titles of the academic texts? Reply
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