PRINTER'S NO. 3235
No. 307 Session of 1996
INTRODUCED BY FAJT, STURLA, MANDERINO, BAKER, VAN HORNE,
CAPPABIANCA, LAUGHLIN, LYNCH, BUXTON, DALEY, MICOZZIE,
RAYMOND, MUNDY, WALKO, HERMAN, PLATTS, GEIST, OLASZ, WAUGH,
TIGUE, COY, COLAIZZO, PESCI, L. I. COHEN, HALUSKA, WOGAN,
JOSEPHS, LEVDANSKY, MELIO, SATHER, SANTONI, KAISER, TRELLO,
DONATUCCI, DeLUCA, ROONEY, READSHAW, GIGLIOTTI, COLAFELLA,
SCRIMENTI, DRUCE, RUBLEY, BROWNE, ROBERTS, STABACK, LEDERER,
JAROLIN, McGEEHAN, RUDY, SHANER, J. TAYLOR, BOSCOLA AND
PETRARCA, MARCH 15, 1996
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,
MARCH 15, 1996
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Congress of the United States to maintain the
2 mortgage interest deduction for Federal income tax purposes.
3 WHEREAS, Several so-called "flat tax" proposals have been
4 advanced that could threaten the future deductibility of
5 mortgage interest for Federal tax purposes; and
6 WHEREAS, The mortgage interest deduction (MID) has played an
7 integral role in promoting home ownership, economic growth and
8 jobs in the United States since 1913; and
9 WHEREAS, Home ownership is a fundamental American ideal which
10 promotes social and economic benefits, beyond the benefits that
11 accrue to the homeowner, by encouraging good citizenship and
12 personal effort to maintain and enhance the property values of
13 home, neighborhood and community while at the same time boosting
14 the economy through steady home building, financing and
1 consumerism; and
2 WHEREAS, For many families, the MID provides the means to
3 achieve the American dream of home ownership and remains one of
4 the few remaining incentives for promoting home ownership in the
5 United States; and
6 WHEREAS, Eliminating the MID would hit middle-class Americans
7 the hardest since 76% of the estimated 24 million families that
8 currently claim the MID have incomes of less than $75,000; and
9 WHEREAS, First-time home buyers would be particularly hard
10 hit since eliminating the MID would raise the net cost of owning
11 a home by as much as 33%; and
12 WHEREAS, Eliminating the MID would represent a "hidden tax"
13 increase of up to $313 billion over five years; and
14 WHEREAS, DRI-McGraw Hill, a global economics consulting and
15 information firm, estimates that a Federal flat tax, without the
16 MID and related property tax deduction, would cost America's 64
17 million homeowners nearly $1.7 trillion within two years, which
18 amounts to a 15% loss in home value; and
19 WHEREAS, Eliminating, or even reducing, the MID would depress
20 home values, reduce home equity and exclude millions of
21 Americans from home ownership; and
22 WHEREAS, A flat tax, without the MID and related property tax
23 deduction, would have a devastating impact on the housing
24 industry, resulting in an estimated 22% drop in new housing
25 starts and a 19% reduction in existing home sales; and
26 WHEREAS, Plummeting housing starts and housing prices would
27 have a rippling effect in every aspect of the nation's economy,
28 forcing millions of Americans in construction and housing-
29 related industries out of work; and
30 WHEREAS, A reduction in home values and home ownership would
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1 likely force local governments to either raise property taxes or
2 cut essential services; and
3 WHEREAS, It is proper that the policy of the Federal
4 Government should continue to encourage home ownership;
5 therefore be it
6 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
7 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge Congress to maintain the MID
8 for Federal income tax purposes; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
10 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge all members of Congress to
11 support the provisions of U.S. Senate Resolution 117, or a
12 similar measure, as demonstrative pledge not to restrict or
13 eliminate the MID; and be it further
14 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
15 the presiding officers of each house of Congress, to each member
16 of Congress from Pennsylvania and to the chairman of the Senate
17 Finance Committee and the chairman of the House Ways and Means
18 Committee.
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