Obama proposes mortgage-deduction cut in budget 2010

the Obama administration’s new fiscal year 2010 budget proposes to cap the mortgage deductions on “higher income” households — well, if you consider making $208,850 extremely high income.
“The Administration’s Budget includes a proposal to limit the tax rate at which high-income taxpayers can take itemized deductions to 28 percent — and the initial reserve fund would be funded in part through this provision This provision would raise $318 billion over 10 years.”

The Wall Street Journal reports …

Households paying income taxes at the 33% and 35% rates can currently claim deductions at those rates. Under the Obama proposal, they could deduct only 28% of the value of those payments.

The changes would be phased in gradually over the next few years. For the 2009 tax year, the 33% tax bracket starts with couples with taxable earnings of $208,850, when adjusted for personal exemptions and various deductible expenses. A taxpayer in the top bracket paying $1,000 of mortgage interest, for example, would see a tax break worth $350 reduced to $280.

During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama promised not to raise taxes on families earning under $250,000 a year, and the administration said that this plan would roughly line up with that limit.
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