While the Tribune’s editorial on March 22 (“
“) acknowledged that now would not be a good time to strip away the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners, it allows that it might be a good idea later.
Let’s look at the numbers. American homeowners now pay 80 percent to 90 percent of federal income tax. Eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction immediately imposes a higher income tax on the 51 million homeowners who have a mortgage, based on 2008 data. In that year, the average taxpayer claiming the mortgage interest deduction deducted $12,200 from taxable income, saving the average taxpayer $3,050 in taxes.
The real question: When is it a good time to add $3,050 on the backs of the homeowner?
— Lawrence Yun, chief economist, National Association of Realtors, Washington, D.C.
