Government
How Congress's Tax Plans Could Kill a Million Affordable Homes in a Decade
The final tax bill that goes to the White House could have very little effect on housing affordability—or it could gut mechanisms for encouraging it.
Early on Saturday morning, the Senate passed a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul by a razor-thin margin. Draft pages of the tax bill were still being added to the legislation even as senators were debating taking the weekend to read the bill.
Looking at the Senate bill in the bright light of day, it’s hard to see any evidence that congressional Republicans see the tax code as a way to solve the housing affordability crisis. That’s one difference between the tax reform today and the last push in 1986, which used tax incentives to spur developers to build safe, affordable housing.