The current tax law provides for a $ 7,500 tax break for first time buyers. The new proposal, which still needs to be voted on, would allow a tax credit for home buyers of 10 percent of the value of new or existing residences, up to a $ 15,000 limit. Although this legislation alone will not cure the ills of our economy, it certainly is a move in the right direction.

Senate OKs $15,000 Bonus for Home Buyers

Housing could get a big boost from the latest addition to the mammoth stimulus bill working its way through Congress.

Senate legislators unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday that would allow a tax credit for home buyers of 10 percent of the value of new or existing residences, up to a $15,000 limit. Current law provides for a $7,500 tax break but only for first-time homebuyers.

"It is time to fix housing first," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-G.

Isakson's office said the proposal would cost the government an estimated $19 billion. In all, the stimulus is now topping an estimated $920 billion.

In an op-ed that appears in Thursday’s Washington Post, President Barack Obama painted a dire picture if Congress fails to move quickly to pass the stimulus bill.

"This recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse," Obama wrote in the op-ed titled, "The Action Americans Need."

Source: The Associated Press, David Espo (02/05/09)