Congressional Accomplishments of 2007
By the design of our forefathers, an evenly divided country would result in an evenly divided Congress. It was also the intention of our forefathers that if Congress was evenly divided, legislation should not move quickly, or in some cases at all, to ensure only the most well considered, bipartisan items were sent to the president. This year, Congress, led by a slim Democratic majority, passed a multitude of legislation; however, sadly even some of the most bipartisan bills have seen the president's veto pen. As the new year fast approaches, Senator Claire McCaskill will send a reminder to Missouri each day of another on her list of top ten congressional accomplishments of 2007 that even the president could not dispute was worth his signature.
Mortgage Tax Relief
As millions of Americans are facing foreclosure amid the current housing market slump, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill was proud to vote for measures to provide tax relief for debt forgiveness and mortgage insurance payments for homeowners. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will help hardworking families by protecting homeowners from paying higher taxes when they refinance their homes. Prior to this law, families struggling with mortgage payments who qualify for debt forgiveness when they refinance a home would have been subject to high taxes on the amount of money forgiven by the lender.
Specifically, the tax package enacted into law stops Americans from paying tax on the "debt income" they earned through refinancing, a deduction for private mortgage insurance, and a provision that provides surviving spouses with tax relief on the sale of a home after the death of a spouse. Additionally, the law includes tax relief for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, helps expand housing options for college students with children, and provides flexibility to help co-op tenants and owners deduct real estate taxes and mortgage insurance. Senator McCaskill is pleased that this measure will help homeowners take steps to avoid foreclosure without penalizing them with higher tax payments, hopefully easing the housing burden many families are feeling and strengthening the housing market nation-wide. |
