Friday, June 18, 1999
Proposal: Buy a house, cut taxes
Plan might help impoverished areas
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Citing 30 years of declining home ownership within Cincinnati, a city councilman has proposed $10,000 to $15,000 earnings tax deductions for first-time home buyers.
Buyers would be able to deduct $10,000 from their earnings — or $15,000 if they buy within the city's “empowerment zone” — for the pur pose of calculating Cincinnati earnings taxes, said City Councilman Charlie Winburn.
Average tax savings would range from about $210 to $315, he predicted. The deductions could be used for two years.
The idea could encourage people to move into Cincinnati, Mr. Winburn said, and especially to the poorer city neighborhoods that are in the empowerment zone: Avondale, the West End, Over-the-Rhine, Evanston, Queensgate, Mount Auburn, Fairview Heights/Clifton Heights, Corryville and Walnut Hills.
Although the national home ownership rate is hovering around 65 percent, only 38 percent of Cincinnati city residents own a place of their own.
“Five thousand people a year are moving out of the city, and 90 percent of them are home owners,” Mr. Winburn said, adding the reasons for the flight are the city's tax structure and struggling public schools.
“This is going to help us increase our home ownership,” he said. “When you buy a home, schools get money from property taxes.”
Mr. Winburn's office said he has not discussed the idea with his fellow council members. A majority would have to approve it, otherwise it will not become law.
He said he plans to introduce the idea at Wednesday's city council meeting.
The city solicitor's office has re viewed the proposal and has found it “would probably be defensible” legally, said a June 15 letter from City Solicitor Fay Dupuis.
The person named on the deed would be eligible for the deduction. Only one full deduction would be allowed per residence per year, regardless of the number of people named on the deed.
Earlier this month, Mr. Winburn proposed a city earnings tax deduction for child care. The proposal is being studied by a council committee.
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