I just caught a snippet of something disturbing on the radio this morning.

[EnviroBat]

This guy was talking about Obama's tax plan and the budget. He stated that it will raise taxes on the wealthy, and there will no longer be a deduction for mortgage interest paid. I'm sorry, but that deduction for mortgage interest really helps every year, and if their are plans to abolish it, well let's just say, that I'm not a fan. I'm wondering if this is only for people making above a certain income level that lose this deduction? Anyone have the details to talk me down?

[slackmaster]

1. Details here

It's bullshit.

[dysfunctional press]

5. where?

did you mean to post a link with that? :shrug:

i've been hearing the same tripe, so i'm kind of interested in the details.

[EnviroBat]

8. Thank you...

Apparently we're idiots...

God, this fucking place is becoming more retarded by the minute...

[Kalyke]

14. No, he's not retarded, he's just a slackmaster.

(Check his user name)

:)

[slackmaster]

12. There's nothing to link to

:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

24. your post says "details here"...

where's the here? :shrug:

[slackmaster]

26. "here" referred to the body of my post, in which I wrote "It's bullshit."

e.g. here.

[madaboutharry]

2. I do not believe for a moment that

there will no longer be a deduction for mortgage interest paid. Someone was talking out of his ass.

[EnviroBat]

3. I'm still trying to run down the details. Like I said it was something

I heard in passing, and I wasn't sure about the context...

[hlthe2b]

4. Why would you believe some RWer on the radio?

That's my question....:shrug: Actually, why would you be listening to RW radio?


Does it in ANY way make sense to you based on what you do know of Obama's current stimulus and tax plan (and philosophy)?

[EnviroBat]

7. I guess I wasn't making myself very clear.

So I'll come right out and ask. Does anyone know where I can find the details of Obama's Tax Plan, so I can look into the details for myself? Enough of the smarmy shit k? The reason I listen to RW radio is so that I keep informed as to what these assholes are trying to push. For fucks sake, somebody has to.

[hlthe2b]

11. Great... at least you question what you hear...

Your post seemed to me to suggest you believed it, thus my visceral reaction. No offense intended ;)

[FormerDittoHead]

35. One problem with talk radio is that no one comes back a year later to tell them how they lied.

I'm wondering if Glenn Beck was ever brought to task about saying how the Iraqis had WMD drones, or how the French engaged in a conspiracy to prevent the invasion because they wanted to protect their contracts with Saddam, etc., etc.

But your advice is the best - don't listen to it. It's TOXIC.

[Liberal In Texas]

6. Not true. Next question. n/t

[LynnTheDem]

9. Apparently just for the wealthy.

There is already resistance from Democrats who are upset with the budget's plan to curb the ability of wealthier people to reduce their tax bills through deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Obama+budget%3B+mortgage+interest+tax+credit&meta=

[ellacott]

10. They won't get rid of the mortgage interest deduction

They will decrease the amount that can be deducted by high income tax payers. I don't have a link from the White House but I did find this news report:
*******
Currently, for every $1,000 paid in mortgage interest, high-income taxpayers can deduct $350 off their taxes. Under Mr. Obama's budget, that would drop to a $280 deduction.

The president would also cut the deduction those in the top tax-brackets get for giving to charity.

If they donate $10,000, they can now deduct $3,500 off their taxes. Under Mr. Obama's plan, that would drop to $2,800. That's a $700 tax increase.
http://cbs2.com/national/taxes.wealthy.budget.2.945440.html

[EnviroBat]

13. Thank you. That's the information I was looking for.

The only thing I was able to glean from the Tax Plan online was this snippet:

A Universal 10% Mortgage Interest Tax Credit. Barack Obama will provide a 10% refundable credit to
offset mortgage interest payments and make homeownership more affordable for lower- and middle-income
families. This universal credit will provide an average tax cut of $500 to 10 million homeowners who do not
currently itemize.

This was confusing to me, and coupled with what I thought I heard this morning, it wasn't very clear...

[ellacott]

19. You're welcome, it definately is confusing

I remember during the campaign that he wanted that tax credit for the average person who doesn't itemize.

I didn't know that high income taxpayers only deducted a percentage of their interest and charitable donations.

I remember when Bush tried to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction. I was very upset about it but I had just bought a home and wouldn't have been able to take advantage of this benefit.

[WillieW]

17. The tax deduction for new homeowners is a big incentive for buying a home.

[Captain Hilts]

23. That is a huge tax break, isn't it? nt

[Emit]

15. Here - I read about this the other day

~
The tax increases would raise an estimated $318 billion over 10 years by reducing the value of such longstanding deductions as mortgage interest and charitable contributions for people in the highest tax brackets. Households paying income taxes at the 33% and 35% rates can currently claim deductions at those rates. Under the Obama proposal, they could deduct only 28% of the value of those payments.

The changes would be phased in gradually over the next few years. For the 2009 tax year, the 33% tax bracket starts with couples with taxable earnings of $208,850, when adjusted for personal exemptions and various deductible expenses. A taxpayer in the top bracket paying $1,000 of mortgage interest, for example, would see a tax break worth $350 reduced to $280.

During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama promised not to raise taxes on families earning under $250,000 a year, and the administration said that this plan would roughly line up with that limit.

~~



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123559630127675581.html

[NNN0LHI]

16. He may have been talking about (I hope) taxing the profits on home sales?

Used to be you could sell one house and not have to claim any profit made from the sale. You could use the one time deduction on your first sale or save it for later if you wished.

Then along the way came where people could do this unlimited times after living in a house for at least two years. About the time Bush's "ownership society" came into being is my guess when that came along? If I am wrong I would like someone to tell me when that was changed because I am interested in the history of that.

I have a wealthy Republican aunt who was flipping houses every two years for a while for the tax free income. Then she did it again about three years ago and now she can't sell either of them. They are both now worth a lot less than she paid for them and she is stuck with two McMansions and only needs one to live in. But the tax bill keeps coming for both of them. She was a huge McCain supporter. Too cheap to send any money to his campaign though.

Don

[dysfunctional press]

25. you can't do it "unlimited times"...

there's a lifetime limit of $600K, iirc...

[NNN0LHI]

27. It would be unlimited times for me

Because I could never be lucky enough to ever pull that kind of coin down flipping houses.

If I could get a hundred or two thousand dollars profit in my income bracket I would be doing very good.

Thank you for explaining that to me too. When did they start the 600 grand cap instead of the one time deduction if you know? I have tried unsuccessfully Googleing to find it.

I know it had to be after 1989 because I made a small profit on a house I sold back then and had to claim it as I thought I might have a larger gain some time later and I would want to use it then. Gambled and lost. Story of my life.

Don

[dysfunctional press]

29. it's actually $250K lifetime per person- $500K for couples. it changed may 7, 1997...

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20041018a1.asp

my wife and i bought a two-flat in chicago for $130K in 1996, and sold it for $425K in 2007.
BUT- we also put at least $50K into fixing up over those years- i did most of the work myself, but most materials aren't free...i'm not sure how or if money that's put into the house counts against that lifetime limit, though- but it should. instead of making $295K, we should only be counted as having made $245K on the sale.

[NNN0LHI]

34. I think any improvements made within the last year are deductible from any taxable profit?

Thats the way it was in 1989 anyway.

Don

[ipfilter]

18. Eliminating the mortgage interest deduction is a third rail

no politician want's to touch.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cerridwen]

22. Wrong board and you need to put fishing in your profile.

calling ds2244, ds2244

Pizza for one!

[Captain Hilts]

21. WRONG. There will always be the mortgage deduction. It's VERY popular - especially among women...

my firm did polling on this.

[dipsydoodle]

30. It was also very popular

at one time in the UK with tax relief against all mortgage interest, aka MIRAS ,with adjustment at source. In 2000 it was finally withdrawn : http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/REManual/re500.htm

MIRAS had previously been reduced to tax relief against the first £30000 of the mortgage but even then it was possible for two or more people to have relief on £30000 EACH. It was then announced in the November of 1988 that the EACH bit would end the following August. It caused the greatest demand for mortagages previously known in the UK and given our relative fixed housing supply consequently caused house prices to rocket - that is an understatement. Unfortunately the period coincided with increases in interest rates to c.16% and following that August house prices started to crash leaving many with negative equity and the walkaway scenarios of the present. The situation took about 5 years to resolve by which time the complete ending of MIRAS was hardly material. Everything was fine then until the recent debacle.

Something you think might never happen just might occur so never say never.

[Captain Hilts]

31. Canada doesn't have it either. Only the USA.

Your point is an interesting one!

[dipsydoodle]

32. Did Canada ever have it ?

If so I'm guessing that would be cross related to the good old days of our situation.

BTW - it was only ever applicable to main residence. In the USA if its applicable to multiple residences then its probably being abused to the extent that tax payers are essentially funding those in the buy to rent whatever market.

[Captain Hilts]

33. I don't know about Canada's history with it. Yes, I DO know that it was a main residence...

thing here in the US. I remember that being fought over in the 70s.

[TexasObserver]

28. That is a common claim used to try to kill a plan for tax changes.

It gets slung out there routinely. Someone starts the rumor that a new plan is going to end the mortgage interest deduction, and here we go ....

It's not going to happen. It's never going to happen. It would be insane to do it now, in the middle of a real estate and lending collapse.

Please don't give it another thought. Ain't happenin'.