Mortgage deduction could be trimmed - 美國

這次的debt ceiling increase牽扯到budget cut.
想要做budget cut就要先從稅收下手.
但是國會不想要加稅率,免得被攻擊.
所以兩黨的決議就是從Scheducle A deduction下手.
包括mortgage interest and charitable conribution.
還要調整AMT.即使Schedule A整個都消失掉,也不無可能.
Long-term capital gain and qualified dividend也將取消優惠.

公司稅將會進一步往下調整,約為23% ~ 29%.

所以,股市往下跑是正常的.因為美國人的消費能力將從此大幅度地下降.

Statutory Timelines

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC)

The Budget Control Act of 2011 carries extremely aggressive targets that
Congress and the JSC are supposed to meet. Here's a summary of what has to be
done and when:

‧No later than Aug. 16, 2011 (14 days after the enactment date), the 12
members and the co-chairs of the JSC must be appointed by the majority and
minority leaders of the Senate, and the Speaker and minority leader of the
House, who each must appoint three members. The Speaker and the majority
leader of the Senate must each appoint one member to serve as co-chair from
among the JSC members.

‧No later than Sept. 16, 2011 (45 days after the enactment date), the JSC is
to hold its first meeting.

‧No later than Oct. 14, 2011, House and Senate committees may transmit to
the JSC their recommendations for law changes necessary to meet the goal of
JSC.

‧No later than Nov. 23, 2011, the JSC must vote on a report containing the
findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the committee, as well as the
estimates provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and legislative
language in support of those recommendations, which must also contain a
statement of the deficit reduction achieved over fiscal years 2012 through
2021. A majority of JSC members must approve the report and accompanying
legislative language, and the text of the report and accompanying legislative
language must be made public promptly after the vote on adoption of those
matters. Any JSC member may file additional, supplemental, or minority views
within 3 calendar days if the member provides notice of this intention at the
time of final vote on adoption of the report and legislative language.

‧No later than Dec. 2, 2011, if a majority of the JSC approve a report and
legislative language, they must be transmitted to the President, Vice
President, the Speaker of the House, and the majority and minority leaders of
the House and Senate.

‧No later than Dec. 23, 2011, if the JSC approves a report and legislative
language, it must be voted on by both the Senate and the House of
Representatives. No amendments will be considered.


Major changes to the Tax Code proposed within the course of the most recent
deficit debate include:*

Three individual income tax brackets, as low as 8, 14, and 23 percent

Reduction of favored treatment for capital gains and dividends

Repeal of the alternative minimum tax (AMT)

Reduction of key deductions such as for mortgage interest, charitable
contributions and medical coverage expenses

Repeal of deductions for state/local taxes and all miscellaneous itemized
deductions

A single corporate income tax rate, as low as 23 percent

Reduction in key business deductions/incentives such as the Sec. 199
production activity deduction, LIFO and oil/gas benefits

Switch from a worldwide to a territorial based international tax system



http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/03/3812680/mortgage-deduction-could-be-trimmed.html


WASHINGTON – Just as Social Security and Medicare benefits were dangled
above the shredder in the debt ceiling debate, another of Washington's sacred
cows could end up on the chopping block soon as well.

The mortgage interest deduction, which allows 35 million homeowners to write
off their mortgage interest payments, may be in for serious restructuring if
ongoing efforts to pare the bulging federal debt are broadened.

As part of the just-concluded debt ceiling debate, a bipartisan group of
senators known as the "Gang of Six" proposed lowering the limit on mortgages
eligible for the deduction from $1 million to $500,000 and restricting the
tax break only to primary residences.

But as it has through decades of federal budget cuts and crises, the popular
provision emerged unscathed in the debt limit compromise that President
Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday. That reprieve, however, may not last.

With lawmakers looking for $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in additional
budget cuts by the end of the year, the deduction – which will cost the
federal treasury about $131 billion next year – makes for a juicy target.

First of all, the revenue the government forgoes because of the deduction is
huge: more than twice the entire budget of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. And there are better, more cost-efficient ways for the tax
code to encourage homeownership, economists argue. Plus, the benefits of the
deduction go disproportionately to the upper middle class, whose bigger homes
and mortgages bring bigger tax write-offs.

In fact, the average value of the deduction increases with income, from $91
for those who make less than $40,000 a year to $5,459 for those who earn more
than $250,000, according to a 2010 report by the Tax Policy Center, a joint
project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, two center-left
research centers.

The idea of curbing the mortgage tax break has been around for years.
President George W. Bush's tax overhaul panel recommended limiting the
deduction in 2005, but the issue quickly disappeared as lawmakers showed no
stomach for it.

The recent recession may have changed that, however. As federal revenue
plummeted, calls to trim and revamp the deduction have came from the
Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force and President Barack
Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

"While nothing has happened in response to any of these ideas, it is
definitely now on the table as it has never been before," said Eric Toder, a
co-director of the Tax Policy Center.

So don't be surprised if the deduction is back when a new 12-member
bipartisan debt-reduction legislative committee must recommend even more
budget cuts.

At an estimated $484 billion from 2010 to 2014, the mortgage deduction is
second only to the employer-paid health insurance exemption as the most
costly individual tax break, according to the congressional Joint Committee
on Taxation.

A study by the libertarian Reason Foundation suggests eliminating the
deduction altogether to fund a revenue-neutral 8 percent cut in federal taxes
for everyone.

Read more:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/03/3812680/mortgage-deduction-could-be-trimmed.html#ixzz1Tz7OjK7H

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Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
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