WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- An influential U.S. home builders group on Monday voiced opposition to the House Republicans' forthcoming tax bill to be released later this week.
"Last week, it appeared that we had a deal that would establish a meaningful homeownership tax credit that would benefit tens of millions of households," Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, we were told by the House leadership that the credit will be removed from the bill," the statement said.
The House Committee on Ways and Means, the tax-writing committee, is expected to release the long-awaited text of the tax bill on Wednesday, which would cut income tax rates for businesses and individuals while eliminating almost all deductions to income taxes.
"By sharply reducing the number of taxpayers who would itemize, what's left is a tax bill that essentially eviscerates the mortgage interest deduction and strips the tax code of its most vital homeownership tax benefit," MacDonald said, warning the forthcoming tax bill will harm home values, act as a tax on existing home owners and force many younger home buyers out of the market.
"Given that owning a home is the largest asset for most American households, it makes little sense to offer a tax bill that effectively abandons the nation's long-standing commitment to housing," he said.
Home builders' opposition reflected the complexity of tax reform and the difficulties that Republicans faced to gain widely support among business sectors.
U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Republican leaders have said recently that they hoped to pass the tax bill by the end of this year. But it's not clear whether Republicans have enough votes to get the tax bill through both chambers of Congress.