Geezer, you don't understand that percentages mean chit. One of us paid more last year. THAT isn't fair.
You can't possibly be this dim. If we both paid 25%, it's fair. The same percentage. If we both paid $25,000, me on $1 million and you on $100,000, do you still think that is fair? I get to take home $975,000 and you get to take home $75,000. Good luck justifying that.
Umm are they doing away with the Mortgage Interest deduction ????? If so EVERY home owner will have their taxes increased regardless of income. So I am not making a statemet. I am asking a question. I read that, and that to me along with the childcare credit scares the F out of me, and no we dont make over 250/year But I read that Interest deduction is going away and if that happens, my taxes will go up considerably. That is one of the ONLY advantages to owning a home.
One of the three tax plans offered up by the co-chairs of President Obama’s fiscal deficit commission would end the mortgage interest deduction on primary-home mortgages above $500,000, down from the current limit of $1 million. They also proposed to completely eliminate the deductibility on second homes and home equity loans and lines; currently up to $100,000 of interest on such loans and lines qualify for the tax break. This has been a $131 billion bonus for the wealthy to rake in on their mansions. Not at all. If you bought an affordable house and have paid it off, as I have, it will not affect you. If you bought an affordable house and have a mortgage of less than $500,000 it will not affect you. If you have million dollar mansion and a 500,000 dollar summer house, you will pay more taxes, not that you will notice it on a 7-figure income. It's a right-wing scare tactic that it will go away for the middle class. And really, the mortgage interest deduction is not an advantage to owning a home. Read this article from Jane Bryant Quinn. Why You Don’t ‘Need’ a Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction - CBS MoneyWatch.com
And so do you and I. Property taxes are local and have no relation to federal income tax mortgage deductions.
Tax is tax. And they pay more because it's worth more. Fair is fair. We are entitled to mortgage deductions so why shouldn't they?
You guys both have some misconceptions I will do my best to enlighten you. Maybe. The President’s debt commission is possibly going to recommend congress do away with the deduction altogether. Whether congress acts on the suggestion is another matter. They may also recommend to phase it out for higher value mortgages, to cap it, or to make the deduction a credit. Not at all. Lot’s of homeowners don’t have enough in itemized deductions to eclipse the standard deduction. For example my mortgage interest, and charitable deductions are really the only itemized items I have. My interest deduction and charity givings do not touch the standard deduction. Lots of people are in that boat. Throw in all the homwowners who don’t have a mortgage and you are talking about a number much less than every. The fact that congress hasn’t acted to extend the Bush tax cuts is scary to me as well. I have two kids so if that credit goes back to what it was I will be paying1,000 bucks more a year plus have more income subject to higher rates. I am hopeful congress will act, but am going to adjust my W-4 on 1/1/11 if they haven’t. They will likely not go up that much if you are typical, even if the deduction goes away entirely. Let me explain with an example. Say you are married and file jointly. You pay 10,000 a year in mortgage interest and itemize another 3,000 in various ‘stuff.’ If that mortgage deduction goes away you won’t itemize anymore. You will take the standard deduction, which for married joint filers is $11,400. Your taxable income will increase by $1,600 and your tax liability, assuming a 15% bracket will increase by 240. That sucks, but is not exactly massive. Now of course you may not be a typical American. You may have lots of itemized deductions or a huge mortgage and may really really miss the deduction. This is a gross mis-representation of fact. Millions of middle class homeowners benefit from the mortgage interest deduction. Don’t make this into a haves vs. have nots issue. Though I will agree that it is pretty ridiculous that second homes are subject to the deduction. Taxpayers should not have to subsidize the leisure items of others. You can’t say any of this. There are multiple plans out there, and not knowing which the commission will suggest and what Congress will actually with the suggestion makes it impossible to speculate on the effect. Best case scenario is they convert the deduction to a credit, worst case is they do away with it all together. Whatever they do, the aim is to increase revenue. Who it affects is very much TBD. You can’t know this. Not relevant. The article is speaking about people in position to pay off their mortgages and don’t because of the deduction, not people who aren’t in position to pay off their mortgage and may face higher taxes as a result. It gets the main point right… it is usually better to pay off the mortgage than not, but ignores other moving pieces like AMT.
