The Mortgage Interest Deduction: Sacred Cow or Sound Policy?

The recommendation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to repeal the mortgage interest deduction has attracted support across the political spectrum. Yet neither the Commission itself nor most commentators have stopped to assess the implications of such a major change in the tax laws.

Owning your own home has often been considered a central aspect of "The American Dream." How would repeal of the mortgage interest deduction affect homeownership for middle-income American families? What would be the social implications of repeal? How much tax revenue would repeal actually produce?

To address these important issues, Hudson Institute invited a leading member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, and a panel of distinguished experts who have written and spoken about the mortgage interest deduction from diverse points of view.