Brown Seeks Middle-Class Tax Relief as Obama Lays Out Deficit Reduction Plan
Youngstown Business Journal – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is hopeful that a proposal he supports to allow Americans who don’t itemize on their tax returns to deduct state and local property taxes fits into President Obama plans to address the nation’s long-term debt.
Brown, D-Ohio, announced his support Wednesday for the Homeowner Tax Fairness Act, which he said would provide additional relief for up to 30 million Americans, including approximately 1.5 million homeowners in Ohio who would save more than $2.9 billion. Many Americans don’t itemize on their return, either because they don’t know to or they get a larger return using the standard deduction, he said.
“This is about tax fairness for middle-class and working-class families,” Brown said. If Congress moves forward on a comprehensive corporate and individual tax package, “I would be hopeful” that the proposal be included, he remarked. “That’s typically the route for these kinds of good ideas to become law,” he said. While he doesn’t support eliminating the home mortgage deduction, which he said many homeowners count on when they sign their mortgage, Congress could look at limiting it at certain income levels or second and subsequent homes.
