Mitt Romney suggests cutting mortgage interest deduction on eve of presidential debate

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Newsday

DENVER - Offering deficit-cutting ideas before his first debate with President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney says he might be willing to reduce income tax deductions used by millions of families for home mortgage interest and health care costs.

He suggested the changes could be part of a plan that includes a 20 percent cut in tax rates across the board, continuation of upper income tax cuts that Obama wants to end and a comprehensive tax overhaul plan that the Republican presidential contender has so far declined to flesh out in detail. Romney says his overall plans would invigorate the slowly recovering U.S. economy. . .

. . . In an interview Monday night with Denver TV station KDVR, Romney said, "As an option you could say everybody's going to get up to a $17,000 deduction. And you could use your charitable deduction, your home mortgage deduction, or others — your health care deduction, and you can fill that bucket, if you will, that $17,000 bucket that way. And higher income people might have a lower number." . . .

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/mitt-romney-suggests-cutting-mortgage-interest-deduction-on-eve-of-presidential-debate-1.4066809

---

Got to have that 20 percent tax cut for the Koch brothers, after all. As Ryan said, that's the most important thing of all.

So long, Mittens, and good riddance.

[yourout]

1. Probably the single stupidist idea to date.....the housing market would...

completely bottom out in less than a year.

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

29. I heard the same opinion

from a conservative a few months ago when Romney first said this. It came out in some "secret" donor meeting and is not news to me since I read it, though this is the first time Romney has said it publicly.

[fasttense]

47. Not to worry, it's only the deduction for your 1st house

That will be eliminated in the Romney - Ryan tax plan

The mortgage interest deductions for 2nd, 3rd, 4th......11th will still apply.

So, the filthy rich will still be able to buy houses on the cheap.

[KansDem]

77. What happens if you don't know how many houses you own?

Remember John McCain?

McCain not sure how many houses he owns

[Kablooie]

95. They won't be taxed because if you don't know about them you won't report them.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

85. McMansions will be able to buy several large properties

[tk2kewl]

2. the housing market will crater and foreclosures will skyrocket

[Journeyman]

3. "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull an Election Fail out of my hat!". . .

~ Mittwinkle Mormoose

[Salviati]

11. But Mittwinkle, That trick ALWAYS works!

[WestWisconsinDem]

15. Mittwinkle! Another to add to the list!

[roguevalley]

4. that deduction keeps me in my house

[Heather MC]

13. Us too, we would be screwed without it.

[janx]

40. It keeps many of us in our homes, or at least

Last edited Wed Oct 3, 2012, 12:26 AM - Edit history (1)

helps us to survive as we pay for them. This guy is so out of touch as to be crazy! Does he want even more people to lose their homes?!

[hfojvt]

90. I find that hard to believe

I wish those making the claim would provide some numbers.

The mortgage interest deduction largely benefits the rich.

[rob whitey]

92. Exactly!

Exactly! Those who don't understand that are not paying attention. The average middle class person is getting less than $200. Many people think that the amount of interest they paid comes off their tax bill. Not so. Your taxable income is reduced by the amount of interest you paid, that's all.

So someone making $75,000 living in a $200,000 house is not getting jack (on average $179). But the guy making $250,000 living in a $1,000,000 house is getting a couple grand off his tax bill.

Of course the real estate lobby wants us to believe that the MID promotes home ownership. But the Canadians, British, and Austrailians don't have it and their home ownership rates are about the same as the US. But they have an incentive to propogate this myth because the MID is most beneficial in the first few years of home ownership. Being halfway done paying my mortgage, I've paid almost all of the interest and the rest is principal. Therfore I have a tiny deduction. My realtor friends remind me of this all the time in an attempt to get me to buy a new house.

[hfojvt]

96. it's worse than that though

you don't even get to deduct interest.

What happens is

itemized deductions
mortgage interest
property (or sales) taxes
other deductions
other deductions
___________
total itemized deductions = X

but your gain is only X - standard deduction.

So in order to gain, you not only have to be paying a lot of interest, but a lot of real estate taxes and other itemizable expenses.

[Frank Cannon]

50. Same here. Same for a lot of homeowners I know.

This guy really is either the dumbest motherfucker on the planet, or he's trolling us all.

[OldDem2012]

70. Add us to the list, too...

...and it has been a REAL struggle, believe me.

[sarcasmo]

88. Bingo! Which is all part of DR Evils plan.

[Flatpicker]

5. No

I liked Gul Dukat.

He had more depth and empathy than the Money Man.

[Kelvin Mace]

16. Yes, that was my first thought

Dukat had some scruples.

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

31. Dukat

had a greater ability to relate to human beings.

[KatyMan]

55. My wife agrees with you....

She thinks Dukat is one of the sexiest characters around!

[PopeOxycontinI]

6. That takes some balls...

after taking a 70k deduction for his goddamn HORSE!

[Faygo Kid]

8. Good point: He took $77,000 deduction for his show horse.

But God forbid a middle class family take a deduction for their home - likely their only one, too.

Obvious moochers to Romney and Ryan.

[Kingofalldems]

22. Well that deduction would stay of course.

[Corgigal]

72. and that's the answer

President Obama should say at the debate. It's outrageous.

[Frustratedlady]

79. What would he have taken if he thought no one was watching?

I wouldn't trust Romney (or, Ryan) any further than I could see them.

I think Mitt is trying to lose. He knows he's not going to win without cheating and this work is harder than he thought. Why before the debate? Too obvious.

[Sidnerd]

86. Don't think it's a deduction ...

It's probably considered an expense, so yes, it would stay.

[WCGreen]

46. There is a big difference because the horse was a "business" while

Mortgage is a "personal" deductions...

The deductibility of mortgage interest keeps the values of homes high, allowing a whole mess of people to build up equity in order to leverage their assets for things such as education.

Well, business is so much more important to the GOP. What else should we expect.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

69. Correction: That horse is a "hobby" under the IRS rules.

[redwitch]

89. Yes it sure does.

Grrr...........

[spinbaby]

7. The health insurance thing scares me

We're already paying astronomical premiums, co-pays, and deductibles and now they want to take away the deduction for health insurance. That and the loss of the home-mortgage deduction will be crippling for the middle class.

[awoke_in_2003]

25. Crippling the middle class...

has been the goal since Nixon flew to China. And most presidents since have played a part (including Clinton with NAFTA)

[primavera]

9. Keep it up, Mittwit, you're doing great!

At the rate you're going, only 1% of the electorate will end up voting for you!

[bluemarkers]

10. does he even want to win?

cut social security
cut medicare
raise taxes on the middle class
slap women in the you know what
calls veterans and current troops a laundry list ...

seriously?

[wordpix]

27. hey all those items are RW wet dreams

[Brigid]

12. OK, this does it.

Mitty does not want to win this election. I am sure of it now.

[lunasun]

35. but if he does he will have one hell of a "mandate"

[Heather MC]

14. is this interview on video?

I know a wing nut, that went off on me last week when I said Mittens would eliminate the Mortgage deduction. He said prove it, show me where he said that.

I hope this is on Video somewhere

[Wednesdays]

18. Call KDVR-tv in Denver

I'm sure they'd provide you the proof.

They may even have the video up on their website. (I'm texting this from my phone, otherwise I'd see for myself.)

[Heather MC]

21. thanks checking, ETA: Found it!

http://kdvr.com/2012/10/01/in-fox31-interview-romney-again-avoids-specifics-on-tax-plan/

[klook]

30. Rmoney says he would consider a "bucket" of deductions that would be capped

So if you paid $20k of mortgage interest, medical expenses, etc., you'd get -- for example -- only $17k in deductions.

In case there was any doubt, yes -- he intends to screw almost every American. This is just the latest example.

[Heather MC]

34. Once again he doesn't get it.

If you have a 300k mortgage with 5% rate. you are paying. 16k in interest. in NoVa 300k is a cheap mortgage. I think mitt Romney doesn't know this. And he thinks we will hear 17k cap and think wow that's alot!!! but it isn't, it's pittance .

[klook]

73. Exactly

And if that's what you're paying in mtg. interest, you've used up your bucket -- so charitable contributions, out-of-pocket medical costs, unreimbursed business expenses, etc. etc. do nothing to reduce your taxable income.

Rmoney would truly be dangerous for the country. I can't believe he has a ghost of a chance of winning.

[Heather MC]

75. I was just explaining to my DH

That Mitt is going after only Income earners. My DH said all money made is income. I had to explain in Mitts World Money made in the stock market is not income and therefore taxed differently and would not be subject to deduction limitations. My DH thought our deductions didn't come anywhere near 17k. until I explain Mitt intends to include the Mort Int. deduction. Then he said but wait a minute we wouldn't be able to write off any of our charitable donations, or business expenses. then it hit him. he said oh no this Guy would really screw us over.


It took a second but my DH got it. This deduction limitation is a very very very bad plan, for those of us living just above the bottom and barely hitting the middle

[Heather MC]

76. I was just explaining to my DH

That Mitt is going after only Income earners. My DH said all money made is income. I had to explain in Mitts World Money made in the stock market is not income and therefore taxed differently and would not be subject to deduction limitations. My DH thought our deductions didn't come anywhere near 17k. until I explain Mitt intends to include the Mort Int. deduction. Then he said but wait a minute we wouldn't be able to write off any of our charitable donations, or business expenses. then it hit him. he said oh no this Guy would really screw us over.


It took a second but my DH got it. This deduction limitation is a very very very bad plan, for those of us living just above the bottom and barely hitting the middle

[rob whitey]

84. almost...

That's overstating it a bit. If you are in the 25% income bracket that $16k is a $4000 deduction. And that's only the first year. It drops dramatically every year because you pay the interest first.

The fact is that the rich benefit a lot more from the mortgage interest deduction than the poor or middle class. It's a $100 billion per year tax cut that benefits the poor not at all, the middle class a little bit, and the upper middle class and rich get almost all of this cut. We can't argue about tax cuts for the rich and argue for the mortgage interest deduction in the same breath.

[NotThisTime]

83. I feel like throwing up... I'm sorry, this is devastating to middle income people....

I have ten grand in medical this year, a mortgage deduction, state income taxes, property taxes, my children are deductions. I have no money LEFT. I don't want to complain, others have it worse, but if you want to crater this country, this is the way to do it.

[janx]

45. Look at this quote from your link!

"With a small plane circling above trailing a sign that read, 'Hey Mitt, How do you like us now? – The 47 Percent', FOX31 also asked Romney if he wishes he could take back his controversial..."

[Heather MC]

56. Mitt is Dangerous

He says he will take away deductions from "High income people" but Mitt doesn't consider the money he makes as "income" it's Dividens
so He is not talking about himself or his rich friends his talking about employees who make a high income.

[Ash_F]

17. Romney's people buy houses with cash. /nt

[jmowreader]

32. Not if they have any brains in their heads, they don't

People like my parents, who are in the "have some money but are not rich" class, buy houses with cash.

Romney's people don't. They are who the "interest only" mortgage was invented for. These guys take out an interest-only mortgage at...oh, let's say five percent...that resets in five years to buy the house, and at the same time they buy a bond that pays 20 percent. If the bond is enough larger than the mortgage, it will throw off enough income to pay the principal on the mortgage at time of reset. They also buy smaller bonds that will pay enough interest to make their house payments. In this way, a Romney-type can buy a house and never pay a cent of their own money.

OTOH, if a Romney type bought a house with cash he would lose the use of that money until the house was sold.

The problem with the interest-only mortgage is it became a handy tool for guys like Romney to put people in houses they couldn't afford, so they'd have mortgages to tranche and write credit default swaps against...all of which were used to fund corporate takeovers.

[muriel_volestrangler]

48. "a bond that pays 20%"?

No, if such things existed, the financial world would be a different place. They could invest in a hedge fund, that might pay 20%, but bonds are agreements, and they don't pay 20%. Not even junk bonds. If a bond is paying 20%, it means most people expect the holder to go bankrupt, and the bond will become worthless.

[jmowreader]

71. Hedge fund shares are legally bonds

As are credit derivatives. I could have said 'financial instrument' and probably should, but the point is clear: the rich get rich and stay that way by spending OPM.

[reformist2]

19. A $17,000 cap? Mitt, you just po'ed a good chunk of your own voters!!!

[Kelvin Mace]

20. OK, the new Romney/Ryan campaign slogan apparently is:

"Hold my beer and watch this!"

Seriously? Cut the mortgage deduction?

Be my guest and shout that proposal from the highest mountain top. I wonder if any reporter will be smart enough to ask "So, he'll be cutting the mortgage deduction for everyone? Isn't that a massive tax increase on business?

[central scrutinizer]

23. Here is Willard's compromise

he just wants to cancel the mortgage deduction on first homes. You can still take the full deduction on your second home, your Aspen chalet, and your beach home. Now are you happy?

[graham4anything]

24. for those self employed- even more devastating is his cutting the health care deduction

$17,000 for anyone with a family and their self group insurance and medical bills on top of that, know that is nothing.

It would be an extreme increase in those making from zero to under $200,000 tax bill.


but then it would save Mitt millions and millions.

I myself would give everyone an $80,000 or under don't pay taxes, then tax anything over that at higher and higher rates, with those making more than a million say pay 75% of every profit dollar over a million.

[Mojambo]

26. Even coming from a robber baron like Romney, this is just remarkably stupid.

I'm floored. I really am.

[wordpix]

28. more proof Mittens is off his rocker - seemed that way when he went off on his boat on Labor Day

Keep talking, Mitt, we're loving your ideas! At least the fact that they're helping us win this election.

[MrSlayer]

33. I want to know why I should be upset by this.

I'm confused about the whole thing. What is the $17,000 bucket? How much does one usually get for these deductions?

I don't do deductions and shit so I don't know how any of this works.

I'd like to blast the guy about it but I don't know if I'd be right in doing so.

Any help?

[wordpix]

61. if you are purchasing a home, you get a deduction for your mortgage interest but the "bucket" thing

is pretty obscure and I don't get it either.

Must be a Rmoney "zinger" to talk about a "bucket."

[rob whitey]

97. good question!

Good question! Why should you be upset by this? Apparantly you should be upset by it because it came from a Republican. Eliminating the mortgage interest deductions should be a Democrat ideal, but for some reason those who write the party line prefer the deal.

The top tax rate is 35%. It's for people making the big bucks. But almost nobody pays 35%. The reduce their taxable income by all kinds of deductions, and the biggest deductions go to the richest Americans.

You said it yourself, you don't do deductions so it benefits you not at all. You are like many in the middle class, and almost all of the poor. So it's no surprise that of the $100 billion (yes, billion with a "B&quot most of it goes to the upper middle class and rich. Folks making over $200,000.

When people complain about the rich getting tax breaks, this is one of the biggest. The average MID for middle class people is $179. It's well over $2,000 for the people making over $200,000.

[King_Klonopin]

36. OF COURSE HE IS

absolutely, 100% sure he's going to do this.

In order to GIVE millionaires a tax break,
he must TAKE from those at the bottom.

He will eliminate the mortgage interest deduction,
robbing millions of middle class homeowners of
money they were counting on. For me, that equals
$5,000 - $7,000 for the first 8 or 9 years of my
mortgage. We are talking about billions of dollars
going into rich folks pockets that would otherwise
go into local economies. It's just like Reagan did
when he eliminated credit card interest deductions.
Mitt calls this plan "eliminating tax loopholes" -- and he's
not referring to his Cayman Island accounts.

He also intends to force people living below the
poverty level to pay federal income tax by
eliminating the earned income tax deduction.
He calls it "broadening the tax base."

He is not human; he is a cyborg who makes
Ronald Reagan look like St. Vincent.

[0rganism]

37. would that be the same bucket where he keeps his campaign?

Seriously, this guy doesn't even act like he wants the job. Why would anyone hire him?

[jmowreader]

38. Told ya!

The scary thing here is: take your average teabagger or freeper, cut his tax rate but eliminate all his deductions, cause his tax bill to go up, and 99 percent of them will tell you they got a tax cut. The ONLY thing those assholes care about is the rate, and the rate is only half of what you pay.

I have been saying here on this forum that the only way Romney can possibly make his economics work (the rate cut, defense spending hike and balancing the budget all at the same time) is to eliminate every deduction except charitable contributions...and they have to keep that one to keep the churches happy. If things get tight after that he will probably try to restrict the charitable deduction to religious institutions, which is extremely unconstitutional but I won't be surprised if he thinks of it.

[Beowulf]

39. Besides cratering the housing market,

wouldn't this be devastating to charities, museums, non-profits of all stripes?

[muriel_volestrangler]

49. You'd think so

The UK Tories proposed a limit (specifically on charitable donations, and at a higher rate) in the budget this year, but were forced to back down when charities said it would hit them too much:

Chancellor George Osborne has dropped plans to limit tax relief on charitable giving, after protests from charities.

He announced in the Budget a limit of £50,000 or 25% of income, whichever was higher, on the amount a person could donate instead of paying it in tax.
...
The chancellor said in a newspaper interview he had been "shocked" by the scale of legal tax avoidance by the very rich, after seeing the result of a confidential study by HM Revenue and Customs and this was a "specific" loophole he wanted to close.
...
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: "This is a victory for common sense and validates the strength of feeling from the thousands of organisations who lent their weight to the 'Give it Back, George' campaign. This is a great day for philanthropy."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18278253

[progressivebydesign]

41. bad enough the repubs hosed us by taking our Consumer Interest deduction away...

now this???

I rely on the deductions that we get.. what an asshole.

I hope all the right wing Realtors see this.. i left the industry because I was so sick of their blatant pandering to the right, even tho it was always against their best interests.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

42. Tone deaf as always. We in the bottom of the middle need to keep above water.

[mckara]

43. Cutting Interest Paid Deductions Would Put Bain Out of Business!

The is a cunard designed to reinforce a notion making Thatcherism possible when taking over businesses with small down payments and piles of borrowed money. Interest deductions make the whole process affordable for Bain and their ilk of immoral scalpers who destroy businesses and jobs. Without interest deductions, hostile takeovers would require more skin in the game and prevent most schemes from reaching fruition!

[Historic NY]

44. Mitts plan fill your bucket if your can.

[RKP5637]

51. Move over Spain, here comes America. We want the worst economy and most de-funded people so we

can get right on to USA Dystopia, leading the world at the bottom of the heap. Reagan started it, Romney/Ryan want to finish the job.

[mindfulNJ]

52. Kinda knew this was his plan

...but I didn't think he'd say it!

[RKP5637]

53. What makes this concerning is about 50 million Americans are dumber than a

bag of rocks. They will think this is a great idea if told to think so ...

[HereSince1628]

54. Guy with wife with deductible horse hobby, wants to screw the large families holding mortgages

I think the suspenders holding up Mitt's family values have popped.

His wife's hobby takes deductions that exceed working class families entire incomes.

[eringer]

57. IN ROMNEY"S WORLD, DC BECOMES THE NEW DETROIT

First, the Republicans will decimate the Federal workforce (its in their platform) and then Romney will take away the tax deduction for their biggest invertment. Added together, DC area homeowners will realize a 25 to 30 percent drop in the value of their homes while resales will rival those in Detroit. Amazing how many homes in the DC area have yard signs for Romney. They can't all be renters.

[wordpix]

60. all those Rmoney yard signs are "residents" from Congress, who can't vote in the District

DC residents are overwhelmingly for O

[Hugin]

58. Way to go, Willard.

Keep this up and people won't vote Republican for the next 3 elections.

[On the Road]

59. He Would Have Been Better Off

just keeping his plan a secret.

Social Security is the third rails of American politics, and the mortgage deduction isn't too far behind. Romney has taken one in each hand.

[RoccoR5955]

62. And here I've thought he was Romulan

Actually he's more than likely Ferrengi.

He's got to be kidding about the mortgage tax credit, Unless he's trying to lose.

[bemildred]

63. Yes! He keeps the streak alive! nt

[NICO9000]

64. And this would help home sales how?

As a homeowner for 15 years, that mortgage deduction is HUGE for us. Mittens is a dick, plain and simple.

[truthisfreedom]

65. Hmm. He doesn't even let that foot heal up before he shoots it again.

[Sunlei]

66. how about we cut the dancing, race horse, business trip deductions for a start?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

67. A last ditch appeal to GREED.

[renate]

68. I just can't believe this is true

I mean, I do believe it, but... this guy could not be trying any harder to lose this election.

[DallasNE]

74. "As An Option"

We don't want you talking out loud about options Mitt. We want to hear the details of what is in your plans. This just sounds like some kind of deflection away from what the real issues are. It is common practice to present your worst option first so when you do announce your best option it looks very good in comparison -- classic straw man argument. I don't buy a word of this. Is sucks and even Romney knows this.

[hedgehog]

78. How much overlap is there between the high tax states such as New York

and the states that are net losers in the re-distribution of Federal tax money? I've always thought that New York taxes itself to provide services that other states rely on the Federal government to provide. That deal works only as long as New Yorkers can deduct their state and local taxes.

[McCamy Taylor]

80. Mittens is going for the renters vote. Classic GOP Divide and Conquer.

By tomorrow talk radio will be all about "Why should ordinary white working stiffs who can not afford to buy a home subsidize houses bought by Blacks and Mexicans?" Never mind that a lot of the renters are either in the housing industry or have jobs made possible by the housing industry and this change in the tax codes will cost them their jobs.

[Frisbee]

81. As if...

"Got to have that 20 percent tax cut for the Koch brothers, after all. As Ryan said, that's the most important thing of all."

As if the Koch brothers would be satisfied at 20%. The day it became 20% they'd start maneuvering for 10% or less. The greedy bastards will never be satisfied.

[LittlestStar]

82. The housing market will CRASH again if he does this. What a moron!!!!

One of the best incentives to owning is the deductible interest. Not only will primary home sales tank, what would be the point of owning income property? I swear watching Romney is like watching a 3 year old with a lighter next to a can of gasoline.

[Ilsa]

87. Maybe the National Association of Realtors

will start funding ads against this slimey greedy bastard.

[Mellow56]

91. What mortgage interest?

We have not been able to claim mortgage interest on our small house in years. We're told we don't pay enough interest.

[TexasBushwhacker]

93. And what about the renters?

I'm a renter. I don't itemize deductions and my guess is most poor people don't either. Romney says he's going to cut the rates by 20%, which will be a bigger cut for the wealthy, and reduce deductions and exemptions. The poor and middle class could end up paying MORE tax.

[Kablooie]

94. Well, THAT will certainly solve the housing crisis, won't it?