How the Mortgage Interest Deduction Subsidizes the Wealthy

Episode 46 of Inequality Conversations turns a sharp lens on the mortgage interest deduction — what sounds like a middle-class tax break but actually funnels more than 70% of its benefits to households earning over $200,000 a year. Lucas and Luna dig into the numbers: the deduction costs the federal government roughly $70 billion annually in foregone revenue. They explore who really claims it, why the Joint Committee on Taxation found only 8% of taxpayers itemized for mortgage interest in 2023, and how the policy inflates home prices, disproportionately hurts renters, and widens the racial wealth gap. With a specific focus on the CBO's analysis and the Senate tax reform proposals that never passed, this episode challenges a sacred cow of American housing policy and asks whether the deduction should be phased out or restructured. #MortgageInterestDeduction #HousingPolicy #TaxBreaks #WealthGap #Inequality #Homeownership #Renters #TaxReform #CBO #JointCommitteeOnTaxation #RacialWealthGap #Subsidies #HousingAffordability #ItemizedDeductions #TaxPolicy #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo