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GOP Tax Scam Could Lower MD Housing Values By Nearly 20 Percent

Dec 06, 2017

Annapolis, MD — Maryland homeowners will be paying dearly for the GOP’s tax giveaway to corporations and billionaires, according to a recent study, and Larry Hogan has failed to use his bully pulpit to persuade GOP lawmakers to abandon this bad policy, said Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews. 

The National Association of Realtors estimates that if congressional Republicans succeed in eliminating the mortgage interest and State and Local Taxes (SALT) deductions, housing values in Maryland would decrease by 11 to 17 percent.

Republican and Democratic governors from other states that would be hit hard by this scam like Republican Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Democrat Jerry Brown of California have spoken out in opposition to the Republican effort. Yet Governor Hogan said “that’s not my job” when asked about fighting back against the Trump-Republican agenda during a recent interview.

“Owning a home is a pillar of the American dream, but congressional Republicans are pulling the rug out from Maryland families who count on the tax break to pay their bills,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews.  “Study after study has shown that Marylanders will be disproportionately impacted by this tax scam, but Governor Hogan is either not paying attention or doesn’t care. It is shameful for Governor Hogan to remain silent while Republicans ram through a bill to force hard-working Maryland families to pay for tax giveaways for big corporations and the wealthy.”

The study joins the chorus of expert analyses that have found that Maryland families are being asked to pay for the GOP’s tax giveaway to the wealthy.

The proposal passed by the House would make vital public projects, like affordable housing and student loans more expensive for Maryland residents and would cause Maryland students to lose nearly $9 billion in federal education funding in the next decade.

The Senate’s proposal is an even worse deal for Marylanders.  Under the proposal, Maryland students would lose more than $12 billion in federal education funding in the next decade and homeowners would face an average tax hike of more than $2,600 by 2027.