Bentley Prof: Pres. Budget Plan May Threaten Homeownership
WALTHAM (CBS) - In a speech that was actively criticized for days before it was even delivered, President Obama made it clear: the national credit card is more than maxed out.
"We have to live within our means, reduce our deficit, and get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt," President Obama said during this afternoon's 43-minute speech at George Washington University.
WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong reports on how the proposed budget cuts would affect you
Much of what the President described as his "more balanced approach to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over twelve years" remained vague even after his speech.
But what caught the attention of professor and taxation expert Joe Newpol was the president's talk of tinkering with Americans' ability to deduct mortgage interest payments from their taxes.
"Quite frankly, home ownership is impossible without these deductions," explained Newpol, who teaches at Bentley University.
"These things have always been available for middle income people and they make home ownership possible," Newpol continued. "Without them, I think there would be a significant problem."
The mortgage interest tax deduction aside, there's concern that when the president suggests simplifying the tax code, he's also talking about removing or reducing other middle-class-friendly deductions, like property taxes or charitable contributions.
Today, the president said his proposals will only affect the wealthiest two percent of Americans.
But just having these issues on the table is enough to get taxpayers all worked up.
"It's visceral, it's absolutely visceral," Newpol said. "People don't want to pay more taxes, it doesn't matter who it's being imposed on."
That is an attitude that suggests that as brutal as the lead up to this speech was, it's just a taste of what's to come.
