Obama Reconsiders Tax On Mortgage Interest, Charitable Donations

Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is meeting strong Democratic Party resistance to his proposal to reduce tax deductions enjoyed by upper-income Americans and could be forced to drop or modify the idea.

Mr. Obama in his budget blueprint last week proposed a cap on itemized deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations to help pay for his health-care overhaul. The plan would cost wealthier taxpayers about $318 billion in new taxes over 10 years, according to government estimates.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[ObjectiveRealist]

"Democratic Party resistance"? I don't support those "objections from Democratic lawmakers", they're corporate shills.

quote:
The Obama plan would cap the value of deductions for families making $250,000 and up.
/quote
That's fine, those families are long overdue to *start* paying their fair share.

[philosopherkingtomas]

make a social security tax on all income

[AZ AF VET]

People do not understand what the article said. That's obvious. The cap on the deductions doesn't apply to those of us who make less than $200K Just the wealthiest 2 % of the country. Even on these folks it doesn't eliminate the deductions only reducing the percentage that is eligible for deduction again on the very wealthy only.

I think that we should go back to the Eisenhower tax structure that had a top marginal rate for the wealth of 91%. Remember the good old days?

[Sundialsvc4]

Since the Congress is the one that ultimately must craft the budget anyway... what do they propose instead? Let the negotiations continue!

[schatsie]

WSJ, Murdock's Mouthpiece did a hatchet job on Obama,,,,Quelle Surprise!!!

[Blindfaith]

I work six months per year just to pay my masters in the government. That is not enough for Liberals. After decades of hard work to get here, Liberals are drooing, ready to steal more from me.

Margaret Thatcher: "The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people's money."

[schatsie]

Well then you must feel really good that the richest 400 people only pay 17% in taxes.... Yeah for them while you and I suck it up.....

[Badfickle]

Taxing charitable contributions is a nonstarter. A bad idea and it'll never happen. The article doesn't say when taxing mortgages would kick in. Generally a bad idea given the current situation but then if it's only on homes of say $20 million. I don't see a big trickle down happening to the larger housing market.

[NWBrunette]

Oh, please go read the article. Its not a tax on charitable contributions. Its a cap on the deductibility of charitable contributions. Big difference. It means the very wealthy have to cough up a little bit more, something that is quite appropriate after the bush years.

[schatsie]

I doesn't mean just that, it means that the tax deduction policy favors the rich...

Working people with children cannot deduct their charitable deductions at all unless they have a fabulous salary and 60% of the households have less than 60 grand in annual income... They get NO WRITEOFF for charitable deductions....so why should Bill GATES get a writeoff at all???? The ripple effect with giving the rich the tax breaks is (drum rollllll please) the bottom 60% get to pick up the tab....

[Bocado]

I like how you didn't capitalize bush's name.
Whether intentional or not, I'm going to start doing that myself. lol

[MsCanadian]

It sounds to me as if Obama is bailing on his campaign promises. I am hearing the "same old, same old" crap as Bush yammered about, and I don't see Obama doing what is right by the middle class or poor in America.

I like Obama, but I am really sorry to see him carrying out the same old policies as Bush, to protect the rich.

American Revolution 2.0 - coming to you in 2010!

[digiboxer]

When Bush tax cuts were enacted

Top 1 % paid 33% of income tax

Last year

Top 1% paid 39% of income taxes

Know the facts. You are being spun and lied to...it wasn't the tax cuts (which were followed every year by increased tax revenue)

It's the spending folks, and that's just what our leadership is signing us up for...in spades...

[Badfickle]

The reason the top 1% paid such a high percentage of the total income is that they are the only ones who have been making any money. Republicans flaunt that as though it were impressive. The reasons that the rich pay a higher percent is that the middle class has not seen an increase in wages since 1982. There is your facts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/conspiracy-of-silence-wag_b_155531.html
You want to have the rich pay a lower % of the total tax? Try increasing the wages of people who actually work for a living.

[NWBrunette]

That's because they accumulated so much more of the wealth in the bush years. Get a grip. They should be paying a much higher percentage.

[schatsie]

Idjit, they DOUBLED THEIR INCOMES under BUSH,,, the top 400 take in 1 million per EVERY WORKING DAY and pay 17 seventeen....really 17%.... 6 years before that they ONLY took in 1/2 million per day...and paid 22%

DID your income DOUBLE in the last 6 years? and if so count your blessings and hope you are not laid off or made redundant....

[AZ AF VET]

Sources?

[drumz]

Did you get your "facts" from Lush?

[mach]

OBama wants to penalize those who give to charities? He wants to take an est. $4.1 Billion away from the homeless, hungery, abused.....theres compassion

[stella801]

Mortgage interest is the only real reduction we get. Will they up the standard deduction to help? I'm sorry, but I will not be supporting this proposal.

[Badfickle]

Me neither but I think it's only for very large mortgages. Without knowing the specifics it's hard to judge. not a great article.

[richinkle]

I think we need to systematically "OUT" all of the Democratic Congressmembers and Senators who are so preoccupied with the financial concerns of the top 1% of the population, and not expressing a single iota of concern for the remaining 99% of their constituents.

The Rich are calling in their favors, and some of our elite-loving senators are all too willing to trade in the future of their country and the vast majority of our people in order to curry favor with their influential and wealthy overseers.

We must not let them get away with it. We the majority, and we are their overseers, and it's time we insist that our needs come first this time!

[drumz]

Wow, how disjointed can you get. Focusing on the top is enabling the remaining 99% to see how unfair it is. We have the biggest division between the have's and have nots in the hole industrialized world. And you don't want anyone to know that?
Are you rich or something? Why defend the rich?

[JeanMerilynSimmons]

Why does Obama hate the poor?

[drumz]

Huh? Where do you get that Ms. Simpleton?

[DonCosenza]

Capping charitable contribution deductions is a mistake- it will only dry up charitable contributions, which are disproportionately made by the wealthy.

I have no problem with capping, or even eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. It's one of the things that has skewed the market leading to the housing bubble, providing a tax incentive for people to buy a house who may not be able to afford it.

Canada doesn't have such a deduction, and together with more conservative lending criteria, their banks have weathered the global financial meltdown relatively unscathed.

[drumz]

Giving is not done for reward unless you are a republicant.

[greymom]

Somebody please explain this to me. Don't get me wrong, I expect to have to pay higher taxes because I did not actively campaign for Kerry in 2004 so I feel a little bit responsible for the Bush debacle.

Does this mean that the interest on our mortgage is not going to be tax deductable? This is the only tax deduction we have as middle income earners! Or is this only applying to very expensive homes, not my home with a mortgage of 190,000 that we are trying to pay off in the next 8 years. Somebody who knows the details, please put my mind at ease.