Mapping the Mortgage Interest Deduction = West Coast very high + Killing (or Maiming) a Sacred Cow: Home Mortgage Deductions

[mEDITate-OR:

not see the gross inequality grounded in these numbers

California = 1

Hawaii = 2

Nevada = 3

Washington = 4

Arizona = 7

Oregon = 17

While the reasons are both level of income and prices of homes...

what is also important is that the West Coast deducts the most under this US$ Trillion dollar giveaway.

And, this IS a very regressive tax deduction:

The very rich make off/out like Wall Street Bandits.

The poor get absolutely nothing from this.

The middle class gets about 7 to 10 years of benefits, and then almost nothing.

The second article is a fascinating "economic argument".
Very much worth reading.
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Mapping the Mortgage Interest Deduction

The savings from state to state vary for two main reasons. 

First and most importantly, some states have higher average incomes. In those states, people leverage their incomes to take out huge loans for expensive homes. The large monthly mortgage payments that result are, with frequent refinancing, mostly interest payments, not payments on principal. This maximizes the amount deducted, and since these same high-income people are thrust into a higher marginal tax bracket by the federal income tax's progressive rate structure, the deduction saves them substantially more.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/mapping-the-mortgage-interest-deduction/#more-65647

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Killing (or Maiming) a Sacred Cow: Home Mortgage Deductions

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/killing-or-maiming-a-sacred-cow-home-mortgage-deductions/

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Table 1 Mortgage Interest Deduction by State, Tax Year 2008
State	Percentage of Returns Claiming Deduction	Rank	Average Deduction (all returns)	Rank	Average Deduction (for returns claiming one)	Rank
United States	26.83%		$ 3,279		$ 12,221
Alabama	24.02%	32	$ 2,226	36	$ 9,267	38
Alaska	22.42%	38	$ 2,689	24	$ 11,994	16
Arizona	31.53%	11	$ 4,293	9	$ 13,616	7
Arkansas	19.24%	45	$ 1,610	46	$ 8,365	45
California	29.24%	19	$ 5,520	1	$ 18,876	1
Colorado	34.54%	3	$ 4,594	4	$ 13,300	9
Connecticut	35.15%	2	$ 4,396	8	$ 12,509	12
Delaware	31.80%	9	$ 3,817	14	$ 12,006	15
Florida	24.92%	28	$ 3,333	20	$ 13,375	8
Georgia	31.13%	12	$ 3,375	17	$ 10,844	24
Hawaii	24.20%	31	$ 4,048	11	$ 16,730	2
Idaho	29.11%	20	$ 3,081	21	$ 10,587	25
Illinois	28.78%	21	$ 3,337	19	$ 11,593	19
Indiana	23.97%	33	$ 2,070	38	$ 8,637	42
Iowa	20.35%	43	$ 1,649	45	$ 8,104	49
Kansas	23.82%	34	$ 2,060	39	$ 8,647	41
Kentucky	24.57%	30	$ 2,050	40	$ 8,345	46
Louisiana	18.68%	46	$ 1,780	43	$ 9,526	33
Maine	25.81%	25	$ 2,529	28	$ 9,798	31
Maryland	37.94%	1	$ 5,372	2	$ 14,162	5
Massachusetts	31.74%	10	$ 4,064	10	$ 12,805	11
Michigan	27.97%	22	$ 2,659	25	$ 9,505	34
Minnesota	33.71%	4	$ 3,714	16	$ 11,016	21
Mississippi	18.39%	47	$ 1,526	47	$ 8,301	47
Missouri	25.50%	26	$ 2,372	30	$ 9,303	36
Montana	23.42%	36	$ 2,316	32	$ 9,890	30
Nebraska	23.10%	37	$ 1,901	42	$ 8,233	48
Nevada	29.55%	17	$ 4,580	5	$ 15,502	3
New Hampshire	30.68%	15	$ 3,726	15	$ 12,142	14
New Jersey	33.34%	6	$ 4,406	7	$ 13,215	10
New Mexico	21.48%	39	$ 2,356	31	$ 10,969	22
New York	23.73%	35	$ 2,897	23	$ 12,206	13
North Carolina	29.43%	18	$ 2,979	22	$ 10,122	27
North Dakota	14.60%	50	$ 1,222	50	$ 8,372	44
Ohio	26.74%	23	$ 2,266	35	$ 8,475	43
Oklahoma	21.27%	40	$ 1,700	44	$ 7,992	50
Oregon	32.46%	8	$ 3,858	13	$ 11,885	17
Pennsylvania	25.07%	27	$ 2,439	29	$ 9,728	32
Rhode Island	30.74%	14	$ 3,367	18	$ 10,951	23
South Carolina	26.17%	24	$ 2,607	27	$ 9,959	28
South Dakota	14.84%	49	$ 1,396	48	$ 9,404	35
Tennessee	20.70%	41	$ 2,143	37	$ 10,349	26
Texas	20.36%	42	$ 2,027	41	$ 9,955	29
Utah	33.17%	7	$ 3,875	12	$ 11,683	18
Vermont	24.87%	29	$ 2,313	33	$ 9,299	37
Virginia	33.61%	5	$ 4,737	3	$ 14,094	6
Washington	31.04%	13	$ 4,426	6	$ 14,262	4
West Virginia	15.20%	48	$ 1,348	49	$ 8,870	39
Wisconsin	29.92%	16	$ 2,615	26	$ 8,739	40
Wyoming	20.14%	44	$ 2,285	34	$ 11,350	20
Dist. of Columbia	26.93%		$ 4,502		$ 16,720
Tax Foundation calculations based on IRS data

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