From: pettigrew_mi@ripple.enet.dec.com (Mike Pettigrew)
Subject: Re: Middle Class Hit Again in 1992 Tax Bill
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: 21 AUG 92 17:22:20 PDT


In article <BtC9Iz.JM2@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, acheng@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Albert Cheng) writes...

> 
> 
>I bet next year those greedy politicians will require the employers
>to withhold tax on the moving reimbursement.  They then can turn around
>to hand them out to buy votes to secure their tax-free job and that
>hefty retirement.
>

      "Next year" taxes are being decided right now by the Senate.  The
      deals are being cut during the August recess and will be firmed up
      at the beginning of September.

      Now is the time when bitching to the Senate Finance Comittee and 
      the House Ways and Means Committee members might actually make a
      difference.  A few nast-o-grams to your own State's Senator would
      probably also be noticed.


> 
>I don't see why real estate related cost should be count as part of
>the moving cost.  True, it is move related but that really belong to
>the cost base of the house and can be deducted from the capital gain
>calculation. 
>

      The real estate costs are paid in cash from your closing proceeds 
      and directly reduce your ability to buy another house.  The 
      deduction of these costs from the cost basis has no value to you
      if you buy another house, as it will not apply to your taxable
      income. 


      In many areas of the country the "capital gain" on a house is
      purely an illusion due to inflation anyway.  In many other areas
      you have a real capital loss on sale of a house, or even negative
      equity (just mail the keys to the bank!).  But you cannot use any
      of that loss to offset current income. 

>
>     .........With mortage interest break already, I don't see why
>Uncle Sam should hand out another break for the house.
>
      Perhaps they should not.  Perhaps rents should be deductable as
      well as mortgage payments.  Or perhaps neither should be deductable,
      and the personal exemption amount should be raise to 8,000 per
      dependent (the inflation-adjusted value of the 1950's personal
      exemption). 

      Or perhaps we should just all enjoy paying higher taxes.... :(
      We certainly have been paying them.

      But has been government policy for well over forty years now to 
      encourage home ownership by means of tax breaks.  Local, State and
      Federal Governments benefit immensely from having a large, stable
      population of homeowners.  The homeowners like it too. 

      Current tax laws and their effect on the economy are slowly eroding
      the base of homeowners, who are so easy to tax.  The government
      is eating the seed corn.


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| -Mike Pettigrew        pettigrew_mi@ripple.enet.dec.com
|                        (206) 661-3032
|                        Digital Equipment Corporation 
|                        Federal Way, Washington, USA
|___________________________________________________________________________
|These opinions are mine and not necessarily my employer's
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| -Mike Pettigrew        pettigrew_mi@ripple.enet.dec.com
|                        (206) 661-3032
|                        Digital Equipment Corporation 
|                        Federal Way, Washington, USA
|___________________________________________________________________________
|Please do not feed the SPOOKS!
|___________________________________________________________________________
|These opinions are mine and not necessarily my employer's
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