Whether you support the new Health Care bill or not, as Americans we will be affected by new taxes that are included in this bill including a new .9% tax on the self-employeed and an additional 3.8% tax on those with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of over $200,000 (individually) or $250K if taxes filed jointly.

The below link takes you to some good resources which start to explain how a typical American may be affected. Either way, it is good to be educated about what is going down on Washington.

3.8% Tax in Health Bill: Additional Resources.

I’ve been asked recently my thoughts as to if I think the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act will be extended. In our current economical environment, I feel as if this is a no brainer – but I’m not the government.

Many homes that are being sold today are in some form of distress. Essentially, the home owner is selling via a short sell or they have a mortgage that has given them some relief. This act makes the relief the homeowner receives  not taxable.

For more info on this subject, check out Keeping Current Matter’s take: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act: Will It Be Extended?.

Fannie Mae issues a report on the housing industry quarterly, and this last March report had some interesting findings from a consumer confidence level. Here are some highlights:

• Thirty-three percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the highest level over the past 12 months.
• The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy rose to 73 percent, the highest level in over a year.
• Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, the highest number recorded to date.
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months,the highest number recorded to date.

For the full blog posting from my friends at KCM click here –> Americans Predict Rents and Home Prices to Increase. If you are interested in the complete survey from Fannie Mae, then click —> HERE.

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