NAR Applauds Introduction of Housing America’s Workforce Act

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This bill would provide tax relief to working families by allowing them to exclude funds from employer-assisted housing programs from their taxable income
RISMEDIA, June 30 ? The National Association of Realtors is applauding efforts by U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) for introducing the Housing America?s Workforce Act.

This bill would provide tax relief to working families by allowing them to exclude funds from employer-assisted housing programs from their taxable income. Current law requires employees to include housing assistance received from an employer as taxable income.

The legislation would also encourage businesses to offer housing assistance to their employees by creating an employer tax credit for qualified employee housing assistance programs. Finally, the bill would establish a three-year program of competitive grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to nonprofit housing organizations or local governments to pay for the operating costs of administering an employer-assisted housing program.

?Realtors congratulate Senators Clinton, Martinez and Smith for introducing legislation that allows employees to receive the full value of employer-provided housing assistance and encourages more employers to offer housing assistance programs,? said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City. ?Housing costs in many areas have far outpaced wage gains. Employees are finding it increasingly difficult to live in the areas where they work. Many workers can only afford to live in areas geographically far from their place of employment.?

In 2003, NAR created its own employer-assisted housing program with forgivable downpayment loans to help its employees achieve the dream of homeownership.

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