Real Estate Agents Mobilize to Shield Homeowners on Tax Plan

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For decades, the real estate industry has benefited from generous tax deductions that raise home values by making it cheaper for people to own property and shoulder their local taxes. Now, as the Republican tax plan makes its way through Congress, the industry is worried that the fallout will harm its business by making homeownership less valuable.

Around the country, real estate organizations are calling legislators, warning clients about their future tax bills and staging protests, all in an effort to keep homeowners as a favored class in the tax code. “We don’t consider ourselves to be Republicans or Democrats,” said Linda Jay, chief executive of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors in central California. “We are the Realtor party.”

Last week, Ms. Jay and other agents congregated in front of the local office of Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, holding signs and chanting, “Save homeownership.”

“We know he has a tough job to do,” she said. “But we certainly are not going to shy away from letting him know what our feelings are.”

According to some economists, real estate agents have plenty to fear. The Senate version of the tax bill would eliminate the deduction for local property taxes (the House bill caps it at $10,000), and both the House and Senate bills would effectively make the mortgage-interest deduction less valuable to many homeowners. Both provisions could raise the cost of owning a home, making homeownership less attractive for at least some families — and perhaps depressing property values.

In addition, the tax plans would increase the time it took homeowners to qualify for an exclusion from capital gains taxes owed when they eventually sold their homes. That would most likely reduce transaction volume — the bread and butter of agent commissions — by encouraging people to wait longer to sell.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/real-estate-agents-mobilize-to-shield-homeowners-on-tax-plan/ar-BBFtLBJ?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=edgsp

[underpants]

1. What a completely idiotic idea to start with

I understand that they had to create ways to "generate revenue" but this and the post-grad taxable income thing are just stupid. Not one person in their meetings brought up,the effects these measures would have on industries and the economy as a whole?

[FakeNoose]

2. I know a better way

Don't pass this f*cking tax "reform" bill!

It's not reforming our taxes anyway. It's shoveling piles of our money directly at the one-percenters and begging them to take it from us.

Eventually it's going to ruin our economy, but Trump doesn't care about that. He'll already be living in Moscow by then.