The T Word: Lenczewski tries to get out in front of mortgage interest controversy

We wrote earlier today about the widespread complaints that have greeted Rep. Ann Lenczewski’s (DFL-Bloomington) omnibus tax bill proposal to end the state’s home mortgage interest deduction and replace it with a credit capped at $420. This afternoon Lenczewski’s office sent out a list of talking points and numbers seeking to demonstrate that the measure is a boon to most Minnesota homeowners, and captures the bulk of its additional revenue from the state’s tonier addresses.

The bill would offer the $420 credit on home mortage interest payments up to $10,000 a year, but it would no longer offer larger deductions for the larger interest payments on top-dollar mortgages. Today’s release carves up its impact this way.

By way of example, the fact sheet says that a family with two kids, $100,000 a year in income, and a $200,000 mortgage would actually receive a bigger credit–by $20–than under current law, whereas a family making $500,000 a year and paying a $1 million mortgage would see its benefit reduced by $1,330.

Lenczewski’s mortgage interest plan is projected to net the state general fund another $344 million in revenue for the upcoming biennium.

Here’s the release (PDF).