Winehole23
03-25-2014, 11:18 AM
Federal tax benefits for homeowners primarily help wealthier people borrow more money to buy larger houses rather than boost homeownership, according to a new study.
The ZIP Code-level analysis of Internal Revenue Service data, conducted by a team of economists for the right-leaning R Street Institute, examined how tax benefits are distributed across income levels and major metropolitan areas. The study estimates that tax preferences, particularly the mortgage-interest deduction, have helped drive up the size of houses by as much as 18% in the nation's most affluent areas while not broadly encouraging people to buy homes.http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579457342129970328 (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579457342129970328?mod=WS J_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird&mg=reno64-wsj)
The ZIP Code-level analysis of Internal Revenue Service data, conducted by a team of economists for the right-leaning R Street Institute, examined how tax benefits are distributed across income levels and major metropolitan areas. The study estimates that tax preferences, particularly the mortgage-interest deduction, have helped drive up the size of houses by as much as 18% in the nation's most affluent areas while not broadly encouraging people to buy homes.http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579457342129970328 (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303949704579457342129970328?mod=WS J_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird&mg=reno64-wsj)