Why is everyone so excited?

[billryan]

Of course. Every business in the country uses government subsidies. Corporate welfare far exceeds personal welfare, the difference being the corporations employ people to help write their needs into the tax codes while poor people have no one looking out for them.
When I can write off my season box at Yankee Stadium as a business expense, am I not getting a bigger handout than little Jimmy who gets to go to a game a year courtesy of free tickets provided by Con Ed?
The trump tax cut, in effect, gives every business the first 20% of their income tax-free. It was one of the biggest handouts in history., rivaled only by the Medicare prescription program. Do you want to argue that either of those is anything but a handout?
How is a government program that reduces your taxable income any different than one that actually gives you cash? Both put money in your pocket.
Why is some of the money you pay for your mortgage deductible but none of your rent is? Who gets the handout there?

[Eduardo]

How is a government program that reduces your taxable income any different than one that actually gives you cash? Both put money in your pocket.

One puts other people's money in your pocket that you did nothing to earn, the other takes less money out of your pocket that you earned yourself.

[billryan]

How is a government program that reduces your taxable income any different than one that actually gives you cash? Both put money in your pocket.

One puts other people's money in your pocket that you did nothing to earn, the other takes less money out of your pocket that you earned yourself.

Don't drink the purple koolaid.

[Eduardo]

You make money, the government takes some of it.

Others make less money, the government hands them money to help them out.

The government taking less from you (tax break) is a lot different than the government giving more to them (handout). At least to some of us.

It's a pretty basic concept, really. I have no idea why you would fail to understand the difference.

[billryan]

Ask yourself why you, the American taxpayer, are paying for me to entertain clients at a ballgame? How Is that not a handout?
Why can I write off my mortgage but my tenant can't write off their rent? How is that not a handout?

[onemoretry]

Ask yourself why you, the American taxpayer, are paying for me to entertain clients at a ballgame? How Is that not a handout?
Why can I write off my mortgage but my tenant can't write off their rent? How is that not a handout?

Because you're running a business, and it's a business expense. But, if you want to feel really noble, simply don't claim it.

[Eduardo]

We could debate whether a ballgame should be a valid deduction, but I don't consider it a handout. The government isn't buying you tickets, they are allowing you to deduct the cost from your income and yes, that does effectively reduce the cost of your tickets. There are rules in place to ensure things are a valid business expense. Certainly some of those guidelines are flawed. That still doesn't make it a handout.

Mortgages are different. Part of that deduction is property taxes you are already paying, which a renter does not pay. I wouldn't consider deducting taxes from your taxes a handout.

Part of the mortgage deduction is for interest on your loan. I believe this was done as an incentive in order to encourage home ownership as the government sees value in Americans owning homes and the lending process associated with it. This portion of the deduction could probably be viewed as more of a handout than the tax portion, though in your case it is more of a business expense. The renter cannot deduct their rent, but their rent payment is almost certainly impacted by your ability to deduct the loan expenses. Still, it certainly benefits the owner more than the renter. Such is life, and such is why people make the investment to begin with. I wouldn't be opposed to renters being able to deduct a portion of their rent, though for many the standard deduction would probably still exceed that benefit.

[billryan]

Amazon was just given some twenty million dollars in tax breaks to build a warehouse on Long Island.

Several million dollars in property tax( aka school taxes) will be waived, meaning either the students will get less funding or the rest of the tax- payers will have to make it up.
Yet some people here will argue it isn't a handout.

[billryan]

A report today of as much as 851 million dollars in fraudulent or duplicate paycheck protection loans, which were not really loans as the terms call for them to be forgiven.

[billryan]

We could debate whether a ballgame should be a valid deduction, but I don't consider it a handout. The government isn't buying you tickets, they are allowing you to deduct the cost from your income and yes, that does effectively reduce the cost of your tickets. There are rules in place to ensure things are a valid business expense. Certainly some of those guidelines are flawed. That still doesn't make it a handout.

Mortgages are different. Part of that deduction is property taxes you are already paying, which a renter does not pay. I wouldn't consider deducting taxes from your taxes a handout.

Part of the mortgage deduction is for interest on your loan. I believe this was done as an incentive in order to encourage home ownership as the government sees value in Americans owning homes and the lending process associated with it. This portion of the deduction could probably be viewed as more of a handout than the tax portion, though in your case it is more of a business expense. The renter cannot deduct their rent, but their rent payment is almost certainly impacted by your ability to deduct the loan expenses. Still, it certainly benefits the owner more than the renter. Such is life, and such is why people make the investment to begin with. I wouldn't be opposed to renters being able to deduct a portion of their rent, though for many the standard deduction would probably still exceed that benefit.

Mortgages were not deductible until the Depression, when banks had tens of thousands of empty houses they couldn't sell. The banks lowered their requirements from the traditional 50% down to around 20-25%
and lobbied the government to make the interest deductible. The thing is at the time the law was changed, only about 10% of Americans paid any federal income tax so it obviously was a handout to the top ten percent.