Re “A giveaway at the very worst possible time” (Editorial, March 25): The homebuyer tax credit goes into effect May 1, and it’s a bipartisan measure that an overwhelming majority of state legislators understand will help get California’s fragile economy moving again. <\/p>\n
Portraying this legislation as a tax giveaway couldn’t be further from the truth. This is an investment in California and Californians that will get many off the fence and into the housing market. Respected economists recognize that improving the fate of the housing industry is a key to jump-starting the overall economy.<\/p>\n
The homebuyer tax credit will accomplish many goals, which is why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill and why 96 of 99 legislators agreed. It will help clear out the inventory of existing homes, get new construction started, allow contractors and subcontractors to hire again and improve the state’s revenue picture. <\/p>\n
Studies show that each new home built generates three full-time jobs, and that each new homeowner immediately adds $16,000 in various tax revenues back to the state. Those are the key aspects of the tax credit. The state will get back more in return than it is putting up for the program. <\/p>\n
A very small minority has argued the tax credit gives $10,000 back to homebuyers who were going to purchase homes anyway. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The 2009 tax credit showed dramatic increases in home sales and traffic at sales centers, in many cases double or triple in volume, or even higher in many communities. <\/p>\n
The state’s Franchise Tax Board estimates the tax credit is expected to help more than 14,000 Californians get into a new home. That means 14,000 households living the American dream. That means 14,000 households helping the state dig itself out of the worst recession most of us have experienced. <\/p>\n
Sitting back and doing nothing is not a solution. Incentives are needed to get Californians purchasing again. The homebuyer tax credit is one of the best ways to accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Re “A giveaway at the very worst possible time” (Editorial, March 25): The homebuyer tax credit goes into effect May 1, and it’s a bipartisan measure that an overwhelming majority of state legislators understand will help get California’s fragile economy moving again. Portraying this legislation as a tax giveaway couldn’t be further from the truth. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4325,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523121\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}