
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 23, 1995                   TAG: 9505080004
SECTION: AMERICAN HOME WEEK                    PAGE: 18   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PAT CUPP, GRI, CRS Legislative Affairs Chair
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION COMING UNDER FIRE

The day of the Mortgage Interest Deduction battle in Congress is here and the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) is ready to oppose any and all changes in the current mortgage interest deduction. "There is no middle ground on this issue", says NAR President Gill Woods.

In 1913, after the 16th Amendment to the Constitution authorized a federal income tax, the government affirmed its commitment to by providing for the deduction of home mortgage interest and real estate taxes. This commitment precedes Social Security and Medicare.

NAR supports the mortgage interest deduction because it enables millions of citizens to attain homeownership. A home purchase builds national savings and individual wealth, provides tax revenue for local governments and stimulates growth in all housing-related industries.

More than 43 percent of total mortgage interest deductions are claimed by taxpayers with incomes less than $50,000; nearly 70 percent are claimed by taxpayers with incomes of less than $75,000. Real estate and housing drive the nation's economy, helping people become and remain homeowners. The jobs and value the housing industry generate represent 15 percent of this country's gross domestic product.

The mortgage interest deduction already has taken several hits. Most recently, in 1990, a change to the tax code reduced the amount of most itemized deductions, including mortgage interest and property taxes, by 3 percent of a taxpayer's adjusted gross income in excess of $111,800 (for 1994) and $114,700 (for 1995). This threshold for both single and joint filers is indexed annually for inflation.

by CNB