1. Do you own a home with a mortgage? If so, by how much does the mortgage intrest deduction reduce your taxes? If you dont own a home, assume you did and that you had a $150,000 mortgage with a 6 percent intrest rate. Your income tax rate is 15 percent and you itemize deductions. what would be the value to you of the mortage intrest deduction?
2. Why would a tax credit for mortgage intrest be worth more to lower income families than a deduction? Would you favor changing the benefit from a tac deduction to a tax credit? What other changes might you want to make at the same time? WHY?
3.Do you share the view that owning a home makes you a better citizen? Why or why not? In what ways would you expect owners an renters to behave differently as members of teir communities??