5 ms·
Overall this bill seems really, really bad and poorly implemented (and costly). But as a renter in the bay area, I do like that increasing the standard deducti
by jartelt 9y ago
Overall this bill seems really, really bad and poorly implemented (and costly). But as a renter in the bay area, I do like that increasing the standard deduction and reducing some of the other popular deductions will decrease the large tax break homeowners have been receiving. In my opinion we have been treating renters unfairly by letting homeowners deduct so much mortgage interest, property taxes, etc. We already incentivize home ownership by offering government backed 30-year mortgages. We don't need to use the tax code as well.
- matt_wulfeck 9y agoIt sounds like you actually don’t think the bill is bad.
- jartelt 9y agoActually, I do think the bill is bad and would not vote to pass it if I was in the position to do so. I think the benefits are skewed way too far in favor of wealthy individuals and corporations and the cuts will not be paid for by growth. However, if the tax bill only got rid of the mortgage interest deduction and property tax deductions, I would happily support it (unfortunately this is not the case). You are allowed to point out some positive things about an overall crappy bill.
- davidjnelson 9y agoIf the cost of housing in the bay area goes down due to this, that could be a good outcome depending on your situation.
- hcknwscommenter 9y agoIf owning real estate becomes more expensive, there is a very high likelihood that rents will increase rather than decrease.
- jartelt 9y agoI do not believe anyone knows conclusively whether getting rid of those deductions will increase or decrease real estate prices. If the benefit of the deductions was already built in to the price of real estate, prices should come down if you remove the deductions. If removing the deductions limits the supply of homes for sale, prices could go up. My rent is going up every year as it is, so either way I would rather have a more level playing field between renters/owners.
- koolba 9y agoReal estate prices would go down in response to increased costs associated with ownership (namely inability to deduct interest and property taxes). To illustrate the point, if the carrying cost (i.e. property tax) of real estate was extreme, say 90%, nobody would want to own property and the price would plummet. Losing the deductibility for interest and property taxes is nowhere near that extreme but the direction of the effect is the same.
- falcolas 9y agoOnly if all of those property owners respond to the increased costs by selling the property, and don't monetize it in another fashion (like renting it).
- falcolas 9y agoIt directly follows, really. The money for the increased costs has to come from somewhere.