Senator Dodd Supports Tax Credit Extension

   

Posted: Nov 2, 2009

A tax credit meant to encourage home buying is set to expire in November, and at least one influential senator is calling for its extension.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said at a hearing on the state of the nation's housing market that the First-Time Homebuyer Credit should be extended through the end of June 2010. Dodd was joined by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) in calling for the extension.

The First-Time Homebuyer Credit program, which is part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, gives first-time buyers up to an $8,000 tax credit.

"The homebuyer tax credit has already been used by nearly two million first-time homebuyers," Dodd said. "In addition to helping middle-class families achieve the dream of homeownership, the tax credit has helped to stabilize housing prices and the market at large."

Besides extending the expiration date of the home-buying tax credit, Dodd said the program should also be expanded so more middle-class families can take part.

In a related story, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced that the number of building permits issued in September dropped by 1.2 percent, while permits for single-family homes fell by three percent. Some analysts have theorized that the decline in permits is associated with the approaching expiration date of the homebuyer tax credit.