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>top 20% of earners shoulder 84% of the tax burden of the federal government Much like I'm going to ignore the ad hominem of suggesting anyone who sees the cur

>top 20% of earners shoulder 84% of the tax burden of the federal government Much like I'm going to ignore the ad hominem of suggesting anyone who sees the current American economy as less-than-perfectly fair is a member of the "socialist rabble-rousers", you seem to be ignoring the fact annual taxable income represents a smaller and smaller percentage of one's assets as income increases. There are hundreds of exceptions, loopholes and incentives that are tilted toward the better off. Why do I get to write off some of my mortgage payments on my taxes simply because I can afford to take on a mortgage?

sokoloff 9y ago
> Why do I get to write off some of my mortgage payments on my taxes simply because I can afford to take on a mortgage? A. Because it's popular with swing voters. B. Because it puts your purchase of a financed house on a more equal footing with a commercial landlord's purchase of that same house from a tax perspective. (Interest expense incurred in a bonafide profit-seeking business endeavor is tax deductible. If your private mortgage were not equally tax deductible, the tax policy would favor for-profit landlords over private homeownership. I believe that there are valid public policy reasons to encourage private homeownership at least to the extent of putting it on equal footing with commercial real estate leasing.) To be very specific, if tax policy didn't do this, commercial landlords could literally bid more to purchase a given house than a private buyer could for a given projected rent [real or imputed] and investment hurdle rate. You could argue "well, then disallow all interest deduction!", which is a policy change that's been floated somewhat frequently, including recently, but is more complex and needs study [IMO] rather than simplistically eliminating the mortgage interest deduction and assuming that would make housing more affordable or more evenly accessible.

sokoloff 9y ago

> Why do I get to write off some of my mortgage payments on my taxes simply because I can afford to take on a mortgage? A. Because it's popular with swing voters. B. Because it puts your purchase of a financed house on a more equal footing with a commercial landlord's purchase of that same house from a tax perspective. (Interest expense incurred in a bonafide profit-seeking business endeavor is tax deductible. If your private mortgage were not equally tax deductible, the tax policy would favor for-profit landlords over private homeownership. I believe that there are valid public policy reasons to encourage private homeownership at least to the extent of putting it on equal footing with commercial real estate leasing.) To be very specific, if tax policy didn't do this, commercial landlords could literally bid more to purchase a given house than a private buyer could for a given projected rent [real or imputed] and investment hurdle rate. You could argue "well, then disallow all interest deduction!", which is a policy change that's been floated somewhat frequently, including recently, but is more complex and needs study [IMO] rather than simplistically eliminating the mortgage interest deduction and assuming that would make housing more affordable or more evenly accessible.