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1 Gerald Prante, Most Americans Don't Itemize on Their Tax Returns 1 (2007)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/ffjfxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FOUNDATION July 23, 2007 Most Americans Don't Itemize on Their Tax Returns by Gerald Prante Fiscal Fact No. 95 Throughout the debate over the alternative minimum tax and tax reform in general, many politicians and spokespersons for special interest lobbies have misled the public about the number of Americans who benefit from preferences in the tax code. Fewer than two in five tax returns claim deductions such as those for mortgage interest and state and local taxes and, in fact, most Americans owe more tax as a result of these deductions being in the tax code. Not only do these preferences benefit fewer taxpayers then lawmakers would have us believe; they also drive up tax rates for everyone else. The table below shows the frequency of itemization by state and income group for tax year 2005. Only one state, Maryland, has an itemization rate over 50 percent, albeit just barely above 50 percent. This may seem surprising given the rhetoric we hear so often on tax preferences such as the mortgage interest deduction, which is portrayed as a way to help families achieve their dreams of home-ownership. But the rhetoric on this tax preference doesn't match the reality: in the long run, the home mortgage interest deduction tends to merely provide windfalls to real estate agents and homebuilders, and in the short run it benefits mostly high-income households-those who itemize, and those who need it least.

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