One of the reasons there is talk about getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction is [View all]

[WCGreen]

because of four years of mortgage interest schedules, through purchase and refinancing, into rates of 5.5% or less.

At that point, most of the people are not paying enough interest to get over the taxable income levels established by the standard deductions, especially for those who have been paying down on their mortgage for ten or more years.

I know many people are still going to benefit from that program so the best way to remove gently the effect of the mortgage interest deduction is to phase it in over the next five years or so.

This will also keep pressure on the mortgage lenders to keep rates low because of the perception that you can write off almost all of your initial payments, which are mostly interest at the beginning of your mortgage commitment, to help you afford a home.

I am not saying I agree or disagree but I am bringing this all up as someone who has prepared thousands of tax returns over the 25 years. As a matter of fact, with more people not needing to itemize, that just makes it easier for people to prepare their own taxes and not rely on a paid preparer.

This information, I think, is critical when measuring the effect of a large change in the tax structure our government has constructed over the last 50 or 60 years.