Step 1 in Romneys plan to "help" the middle class: no more mortgage tax deduction for you.

[sufrommich]

Republican platform drafters refused to put their party on record for preserving the mortgage- interest deduction, giving Mitt Romney more flexibility to promote his plan to lower tax rates paid by corporations and the wealthiest Americans without increasing the federal debt.

The platform panel, meeting in Tampa, Florida, in advance of the Aug. 27 Republican National Convention, defeated a proposed mortgage deduction amendment by a show of hands as it moved toward today’s scheduled completion of the draft statement of positions the party will offer voters in the November election.

The mortgage interest vote was a shift in Republican policy from four years ago, when the party platform said that “because affordable housing is in the national interest, any simplified tax system should continue to encourage homeownership, recognizing the tremendous social value that the home mortgage interest deduction has had for decades.”

Romney, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, has proposed lowering corporate and individual income-tax rates and eliminating some tax breaks, without specifying which ones. A Romney campaign adviser, former Senator Jim Talent of Missouri, urged delegates to reject the mortgage-interest plank to avoid muddying the call for a simpler tax system.


http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-20/republican-platform-won-t-protect-mortgage-tax-deduction

[gollygee]

1. I hope this gets publicized far and wide

They want all of us to pay for the 1% club's tax breaks.

[sufrommich]

3. I'm amazed that this gets very little media attention.

Just kidding,I'm not amazed at all.

[Roland99]

2. Screw the middle tax and pay for more tax cuts for the rich

What a great campaign idea!!!

[LynneSin]

4. Oh hell no!

The only reason I get back any taxes at tax season is because of that mortgage tax deduction.

[sufrommich]

5. Somewhere a multi-millionaire is being slightly

inconvenienced by your piddly tax deduction, and this concerns Mitt Romney greatly.

[yellowcanine]

6. This is a killer with house prices in the toilet, foreclosures, and short sales.

Even the hint that the mortgage interest might no longer be deductible could put a damper on home sales because people will hesitate to buy houses given that such a change would affect the ability to resell a house. And the real estate industry will scream bloody murder.

[sufrommich]

10. It will also result in more people walking away

from their under water mortgages,count on it. Not that Romney has a problem with foreclosures, in fact,he encourages it as a "free market remedy".

[yellowcanine]

13. Of course they will say it would not affect "current mortgages"

But it would be devastating on resale value appreciation - so you are right, more people would walk away, because it will take that much longer to get to the break even point on the equity in the house.

[warrior1]

7. Just posted to FB

I hope my republican relatives read this and stop voting against their best interest.

[sufrommich]

11. So did I. Apparently the media

is going to remain silent on this one.

[bullwinkle428]

8. Ultimate irony - most of these real estate agents & agencies are hardcore

Republicans, if you're simply basing judgment on the campaign signs in front of the offices.

[treestar]

23. They think they are self made entrepreneurs

But this ought to stop them in their tracks.

[reflection]

9. Just sent this to the resident RWer

who just moved into his new $200,000 house. When I hear the 'pop' I'll go in there and wipe the remnants of his head off the walls. Fortunately there's not much in his head, so it shouldn't be much of a cleaning job.

[Octafish]

12. Gee. I remember how sad I got when I couldn't deduct credit card interest.

This proposed law would bring much new sadness.

[spartan61]

15. Do you remember when they

took away the deduction for any sales tax paid on a new car? Another sad day. Especially with the price of cars more than I paid for my house. I can't believe they are actually considering eliminating the deduction for mortgage interest. What a bunch of mental midgets!

[reformist2]

14. Mitt's on record saying he always wanted the housing market to "hit bottom."

[redqueen]

16. Thanks for the link. Off to share this on facebook.

I have some apolitical friends who might suddenly decide politics matters... maybe.

[sufrommich]

21. Good, the media is staying strangely silent. nt

[Romulox]

17. Subsidizing home prices makes homes unaffordable to workers in this economy.

That makes your home harder to sell, because it limits the pool of buyers. In turn, the reduced demand likely reduces the price the home would command in the free market, without government subsidy.

In other words, there is no such thing as a free lunch. And there is no such thing as free money from the government.

[AzDar]

18. Goddamn.They are just right out there with their plans to gut the middle class further, aren't they?

Again, this is *such* a non-winning platform, it makes me worried that they're set to steal it.
Or, perhaps they're just incredibly stupid.

[Sheepshank]

19. Gotta balance the budget somehow, and since the 1%ers don't want to step up to the plate.......n/t

[mojo2012]

20. Soon - NO more tax deductions for middle class - Tax loopholes for the rich will only be left

Eventually, all middle class will have is a simple tax return to complete since Romney will eliminate all tax deductions that middle class depend upon such as the mortgage tax deduction. All this while Romney will keep the tax loopholes for himself and others in his "class".
Housing market will plunge as no one will have an incentive to buy a home. But then maybe Romney can resurrect the (Marriott Corp) Son of Boss tax avoidance scheme, one of the largest in history, in which he was on the board and responsible for oversight over paying taxes. Son of Boss was a tax avoidance scheme used to avoid tens of millions of dollars in taxes.
Or even better, we could all be writing our mortgage payments to Romney like the couple in Texas someday. He'll have enough money to create the Romney Bank....always, always, always, he has a long history for his propensity towards (tax avoidance) schemes.

[Snarkoleptic]

22. Finally!!

I'll be able to go forward unencumbered by the shame of home ownership with this socialist tax benefit.