JEFFERSON CITY -- The collapse of the nation's housing market was the trigger for the recession over the past year, and most analysts agree the recovery will not be complete without the housing market
“We do know that housing has a tremendous role to play,” says MO State Treasurer Clint Zweifel. “And we believe there is some pent-up demand that's beginning to happen at this point.”
Zweifel serves as chairman of the Missouri Housing Development Commission. He wants to use $15 million in uncommitted MHDC funds to pay the local property taxes of as man as eleven thousand people who buy houses in 2010.
"This is a balance that really has been accumulating,” Zweifel told KRCG News. “And it's money that, I believe personally, we can put to work for Missourians.”
Zweifel proposes for MHDC to pay up to $1,250 in property taxes for home buyers earning as much as $98 thousand a year, depending on their location and family circumstances.
"This is not just first-time home buyers,” Zweifel said. “This plan would be structured for any family that fell within the income guidelines.”
The plan would cover up to an additional $500 in taxes for homes with energy-efficient appliances.
"We want to make decisions within MHDC that really put Missourians back to work and that realize the importance of how housing is connected to our economy,” Zweifel said. “We think we're doing that in the multi-family side, but this is another way we can do that on the single-family side.”
Zweifel intends to present the tax relief plan at the Dec. 18 meeting of the MHDC board.
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