BERKLEY: MAYOR GOODMAN TESTIMONY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR PASSAGE OF HOUSING HELP BILL

Package Will Help Address Valley Foreclosure Crisis; Congresswoman Pushing for $7,500 Tax Credit for First-Time Homebuyers

(Washington D.C. – April 10, 2008) Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) pointed to testimony delivered today by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as evidence of the need to pass a housing help package crafted by the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, which would give homebuyers up to $7,500 in tax credits, cleared the panel with Berkley’s support Wednesday and will soon be headed to the House floor for a vote. Goodman testified before the House Financial Services Committee this morning in Washington, D.C. and spoke of how the high numbers of Valley homes in foreclosure are negatively impacting southern Nevada’s quality of life and damaging the local economy.

“Mayor Goodman’s testimony before Congress paints a troubling portrait of how the foreclosure crisis is hurting the Las Vegas Valley and the families and businesses that call our community home. The package I helped craft in the powerful Ways and Means Committee that we passed this week will provide incentives to reduce the number of vacant homes that the Mayor talked about today and which are threatening our quality of life,” said Berkley. “My bill will give up to $7,500 in tax credits to assist families with a down payment on their first home. This much needed package also includes more financial help to keep our friends and neighbors out of foreclosure so they do not live in fear of losing their homes.”

The Berkley housing help package will provide tax credits to first-time homebuyers, increase access to low-income housing and give families a new option to help them save on property taxes. As a member of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, Berkley is working to prevent more foreclosures and increase access to affordable housing opportunities, while also focusing on ways to assist families in the purchase of their first home.

“Families in the Las Vegas Valley have been hit hard by the on-going housing crisis and this package will help by making it easier to deduct property taxes, by increasing access to low-income housing help and by offering up to $7,500 in tax credits to first time homebuyers. As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, I am working to pass this vital package which will aid families in the Las Vegas Valley struggling with high mortgage rates, high rent, high down payment costs or the loss of a home to foreclosure,” said Berkley. “We need to speed along this help for families in Nevada and nationwide and we need to do it now.”

The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 provides tax credits to first-time homebuyers, improves access to low-income housing and allows families to deduct property taxes, as well as other provisions. The legislation, introduced by House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and cosponsored by Berkley, will be considered by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks. The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 is designed to complement efforts in the House Committee on Financial Services to address the growing rate of foreclosures nationwide.

Highlights of the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008

• First-time homebuyer tax credit to assist in making a down payment on a home. This would provide individuals and families with a refundable credit (equivalent to an interest-free loan) of ten percent of the purchase price of their home (up to $7,500). Taxpayers would be required to repay any amount received under this provision over 15 years in equal installments. The credit will be phased out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $70,000 ($140,000 in the case of a joint return).

• Additional standard deduction for real property taxes to help homeowners who claim the standard deduction by allowing them to claim an additional standard deduction of up to $350 ($700 for joint filers) for state and local real property taxes. This provision applies for 2008.

• Temporary increase in low-income housing tax credit and simplification of the credit. This will help put builders to work to create new options for families seeking affordable housing alternatives. The credit will also be simplified to improve its effectiveness.

• Temporary increase in state issued mortgage revenue bonds to allow for the issuance of an additional $10 billion of tax-exempt bonds to refinance subprime loans, provide loans to first-time homebuyers and to finance the construction of low-income rental housing.

# # #