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The 18 members of the ""National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform"":http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/ voted Friday on a proposal aimed at reducing the national deficit by $4 trillion by 2020.
[IMAGE]The proposal, titled The Moment of Truth, recommended reducing and in some cases eliminating the mortgage interest tax deduction that homeowners have been accustomed to for more than 80 years.
Though the commission voted in support of the proposal with an 11-7 vote, those margins did not meet the 14-4
[COLUMN_BREAK]stipulation required to automatically send the recommendations to Congress.
But strong support of the panelists, many of whom are also members of the House and Senate, leads many to speculate that portions of the plan will still end up in front of Congress.
Strong support of the proposal within government agencies has been countered with staunch criticism by those opposing what would amount to a $1 trillion tax increase by 2020.
Real estate groups such as the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors have released statements voicing opposition to the plan.
NAR president Ron Phipps said the mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing market and changes to it could bring down home prices at a time when the market is just beginning to stabilize.
""This would negatively impact home ownership for millions of Americans, including those who own their homes outright and have no mortgage,"" he said.
NAR estimates that home values could decline as much as 15 percent if the proposal were to pass.
