Senate Haggles Over Home-Buyer Tax Credit Extension
By WSJ Staff
From Washington Wire:
John D. McKinnon reports on tax politics.
Prospects for a Senate deal to extend the homebuyer tax credit remain good. But details still need to be worked out, and worries about its cost and effectiveness are weighing on some lawmakers’ minds.
Proponents are counting on support from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, whose home state real-estate market has been hit hard, and who is pushing personally for the credit’s extension.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) told reporters traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., with President Barack Obama Monday that he expects the Senate to vote this week on a proposal to extend the $8,000 credit for a matter of months.
But back in Washington, Democratic and Republican negotiators were still haggling over main details – such as whether to continue restricting the credit to first-time buyers, whether to increase income limits for qualifying buyers, and whether to add a limit on the value of the home to prevent use of the credit to buy McMansions.
Asked about the tax-credit negotiations, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who was traveling aboard Air Force One on the Florida trip, appeared noncommittal about the extension, saying, “we continue to discuss where we are on that….but I don’t have any news on it….I think we’re still working with Congress about possible ways forward.”
Proponents argue that allowing the credit for first-time buyers to lapse could send the recovering real-estate market back into a tailspin. They note that it’s been popular, with about 1.4 million sales qualifying so far.