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Take action against the proposed tax reform plan now

Regardless of your politics, home ownership should be available to as many people as possible. Now, Congress is threatening tax incentives for homeowners, like the mortgage interest deduction and the state and local property tax deduction. These incentives are critical for a strong housing market that creates jobs and builds stable communities.Take action to tell Congress to reform our tax code AND protect middle class homeowners.

This is a tax increase on California homebuyers and homeowners. Congress needs to protect taxpayers from double-taxation and maintain the deduction for state and local taxes, including property taxes. Not allowing the average homeowner in California to deduct their property, state and local taxes would effectively raise their taxes $3,000 a year! The Federal government would tax families on money paid to the state and to local governments they never used. Homeownership is good for families and communities and the tax code should encourage it. The tax code is often used to encourage favored behavior. For instance, lowering the corporate tax rate encourages businesses to invest in equipment and hire more workers. Homeownership should be encouraged too. Studies show that homeowners build wealth at a faster rate and are more active in their communities. For over 100 years Congress has provided an incentive for homeownership with the tax code; currently through the mortgage interest deduction. Any effort at reforming the tax code should maintain and prioritize this incentive. The current proposal only pays lip service to incentivizing homeownership. The proposed changes will result in only five-percent of taxpayers itemizing their deductions. Therefore, the vast majority of people will no longer receive any tax incentive to purchase a home. So, while the proposal keeps the mortgage interest deduction, the incentive effect of the deduction for Americans to become homeowners disappears.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Go to http://on.car.org/2017taxreform

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