TALKING POINTS antrum 111 114 Tax Reform Congressional Action Needed • Congressional Republicans have promised the first comprehensive tax reform bill in more than 30 years. • Members of Congress and their staffs need to be reminded that tax reform muse not dilute the current real estate tax provisions vital to the housing market and the economy. Reform ideas that repeal or weaken tax incentives to encourage homeownership must be rejected. We need tax reform, but it must first do no harm. Congressional Actions To Date • No tax reform legislation has been introduced in the current Congress. • "fax reform proposals discussed to date would lower tax rates and raise the standard deduction but would pay for these changes by scaling back existing real estate tax provisions. • Proposals that limit itemized deductions—even if not direaly changing rules applicable to mortgage interest —could have serious negative consequences for homeowners. What To Tell Your Representatives And Senators Homeowners Must Be Treated Fairly in Tax Reform — Middle-income homeowners could be worse off under proposals that limit tax incentives for homeownership. Analysis of a blueprint-like tax reform plan shows that home-owning families with incomes between 550.000-5200.000 would face average km-hike, of 5815 in the year after enactment while non-homeowners in the same income range would enjoy average annual tax ruts of 5516. — Homeowners already pay 83 percent of all federal income taxes, and this share would go even higher under similar reform proposals. Homeowners should not have to pay a higher share of taxes because of tax reform. We Must Reverse the Decline in First-time Homebuyen — The tax code historically has encouraged homeownership. Proposals that limit interest and property tax deductibility would reverse this course. — The number of first-time homebuyers is coming off an all-time low and in 2016 the homeownership rate was at a 50-year low. — Homeow