Real estate tax relief

"We think [the new deduction] is terrible policy," said James Arbury, senior vice president for government affairs of the National Multi Housing Council, the country's principal trade group for rental property developers, owners and managers. "It actually makes things worse, rather than better" by sweetening the pot further for ownership while ignoring tenants - the vast majority of whom are also nonitemizers.

"Many renters are under the same economic duress as owners," said Arbury. "But nobody is giving them new tax deductions."

The National Multi Housing Council has fought a long, unsuccessful campaign to persuade Congress to take a more even-handed approach in supporting taxpayers' housing choices.

"We understand why members [of Congress] would want to put more goodies in homeowners' baskets" in political terms, said Arbury. Owners outnumber renters roughly 2-1 and have influential lobbies such as the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders pushing their interests year-round. But renters ultimately end up paying for part of the subsidies that flow to owners, and, say critics such as Arbury, that's not fair.

kenharney@earthlink.net.