Published by REALTOR Magazine | April 29, 2021
President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time on April 26th to outline his American Families Plan, the second half of an ambitious infrastructure agenda focused on social programs that Biden would pay for with a host of tax increases.
NAR President Charlie Oppler sent a letter to the White House on Thursday outlining concerns with several tax provisions in the proposal and how they could affect the broader economy and access to affordable housing. Oppler pledged to work closely with the administration in the coming months, while NAR’s advocacy team is cautioning the road to passage is a long one.
“This is an opening bid by the administration. What could become law months from now will likely be very different,” said Shannon McGahn, NAR’s chief advocacy officer. “We will be actively engaged with lawmakers of both parties as this bill works its way through the legislative process, as we were with all of the major COVID-19 relief bills.”
“Real estate makes up nearly one-fifth of the entire American economy, and we will continue to vigorously educate lawmakers about how these various tax policies could impact the market. Both residential and commercial real estate have very unique needs at the moment, and disruptive measures could have far-reaching consequences for access to homeownership.”
–Shannon McGahn, NAR’s Chief Advocacy Officer
The first half of President Biden’s agenda—dubbed the American Jobs Plan—was released at the end of March and focuses on traditional infrastructure spending. Oppler thanked the president “for emphasizing housing availability and broadband internet access” in the first proposal and said he “looked forward to working with Congress and the administration to ensure these proposals are funded responsibly.”
Original article: https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/04/29/nar-concerned-about-tax-hikes-in-biden-s-jobs-plan
