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 must 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.
- Tax 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 β even if not directly changing rules applicable to mortgage interest β could have serious negative consequences for homeowners.
National Flood Insurance Program
Congressional Action Needed
- Authority for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expires on September 30, 2017.
- Urge Congress to pass a multiyear reauthorization with needed private market reforms to avoid adding uncertainty to real estate markets.
Congressional Actions To Date
- House Financial Services Subcommittee Chair Sean Duffy (R-WI) is now drafting an NFIP reauthorization bill that includes mapping, mitigation and private market reforms; the Senate is waiting on the House bill.
- Senators Heller (R-NV) and Tester (D-MT) and Reps. Ross (R-FL) and Castor (D-FL) have reintroduced the βFlood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Actβ (S. 563(link is external)/H.R. 1422(link is external)) to reduce barriers to private flood insurance.
Protect Sustainable Homeownership
Congressional Action Needed
- Responsibly reform the secondary mortgage market to ensure that the qualified borrowers have access to safe, affordable mortgage financing.
- Ban the use of mortgage guarantee fees (g-fees) to offset the cost of legislation unrelated to housing.
- Ensure that loans used to pay for energy efficiency improvements are subject to consumer protection laws.
Congressional Actions to Date
- No significant housing finance reform legislation has been introduced in the 115th Congress.
- H.R. 916(link is external) (Sanford, R-SC; Sherman, D-CA), the βRisk Management and Homeownership Stability Act,β prohibits the use of g-fees as offsets for government spending.
- S. 838(link is external) (Cotton, R-AR) and H.R. 1958(link is external) (Royce, R-CA; Sherman, D-CA), both entitled the βProtecting Americans from Credit Entanglements Act of 2017,β extend consumer disclosures to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans.
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