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Show ; Just' Gommon Cents . . By Pat Whitfield! Pride in ownership seems to be a universally-shared characteristic. char-acteristic. In this respect, the U.S. is the only country in the world that subsidizes low income rentals, instead of low income purchases. And if a solid shelter.isn't, your cup of tea, you might be interested to learn that in Mali, .nomads can obtain loans for their tents. - Whatever your taste in homes, it appears that this nation hasnt begun to scratch Jhe surfacfe'of home ownership alternatives... in spit of inflation, infla-tion, deflation von stagflation. A little research and, practical application ' therepr-might .help; . After lir..-;it's.'. only common cents!; " ' , . v.'.r K-yt. ;. "Home Buying & Financing Alternatives ' Discouraged about the rental rent-al and purchase profile in Park City? Here' are some alternatives alter-natives that work happily in other parts of the world. Could be they'd work here, too, if given the chance. In Austria, a prospective buyer signs a contract to save . 30 percent of the estimated cost of a home, with the government subsidizing the savings. There's also an additional bonus for each child and the, saver's spouse. In. New Zealand, would-be homeowners home-owners are eligible for .lotter-, ies sponsored by building, societies with winners getting interest-free loans, In. France, . West Germany. .Austria, Tunisia Tun-isia and the United Kingdom, the' government pays a bonus on, money , saved for the first home. Irish Homesteaders pay no capital gains taxes on the sale of their residence while Canadians enjoy interest rates on their mortgages which change every five years in line with current interest rates. - In certain Latin American nations, savings accounts for homes are tied to the cost of living. , ItV inflation v rises 10 percent, so do savings. Israel js another country using this system. Recent research on 31 countries conducted by the U.S. League of Savings Assn. indicate that the U.S. is the only nation which has no tax-exempt tax-exempt savings plan to assist new. home buyers. This seems illogical since" purchasing a home in an inflationary economy is a good hedge against inflation. As property increases in value, the dollars used to pay off the loan become less expensive. In the U.S., saving money for a first home is thwarted since savings sav-ings don't keep step with spiraling inflation and the interest is taxed. In Austria, which was previously mentioned, when a prospective homeowner accumulates ac-cumulates the required sum for a down payment, he can buy his home with a 6 percent loan. This figure has been unchanged for 20 years. The principal is deducted from Austrian income taxes instead of the interest. West Germany uses a similar plan with tax free bonuses up to 18 percent paid on savings. Once a mortgage is obtained, the homeowner deducts the interest inter-est before computing his -income taxes. Additional r deductions de-ductions are given for each child. Applying the tax-exempt savings system to a middle income U.S. family',, the figures would look like this. Supposing an annual income of $ 18,000 and a 20 percent tax' bracket, the individual would agree to save 10 percent of earnings for three years. Cost in uncollected taxes for the three vears would amount to $1,167. With i. 5 million' families buying first homes each year, the cost of the treasury in uncollected taxes would be a little- more than $500 million which, when compared with the government's govern-ment's total income and the national debt, is relatively, small. Britian has a plan under which a depositor saves a regular amount for five years. At the end of that time, a 5 bonus equal to savings for 14 months is granted. If the funds are left in the bank for two more years, the bonus is doubled. No taxes are levied on the principal, interest or bonus. Because of a critical , shortage of rental housing... sound familiar?"... the government govern-ment supports private ownership. owner-ship. For low income buyers, the British government pays a v subsidy to the lender. |
