California congressional district candidate and former mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo, believes that reducing capital gains tax on home sales could be an effective way to lower housing prices and increase government tax revenue.
With less than 50 days until the 2024 election, voters are increasingly scrutinizing the issues raised by candidates and examining their backgrounds more closely.
Liccardo has consistently argued that the current partisan standoff in Congress has made it the least efficient in decades.
He has pledged that if elected, he will work to break the current partisan deadlock in Congress.
During a small gathering in Menlo Park last Saturday, Liccardo was asked how to foster cooperation between the two parties to make decisions beneficial to the voters.
To address this question, Liccardo used the example of analyzing the reasons behind the high housing prices in the Bay Area and the possible policies to address the issue to illustrate how he could facilitate cooperation between the two parties.
Liccardo explained that the persistently high housing prices in the Bay Area are due to a lack of supply in the housing market, causing an imbalance in supply and demand. One significant factor contributing to this imbalance, apart from the current high interest rates, is the high capital gains tax imposed on home sales.
He pointed out that each elderly individual can only receive a tax exemption of $250,000 when selling a house, while a married elderly couple can only receive a tax exemption of $500,000 on capital gains. As a result, all tax advisors advise elderly individuals not to sell their homes, given that this tax exemption was set in 1997.
He stressed that over the years, housing prices have increased significantly, whereas the tax exemption set nearly 30 years ago has remained unchanged.
Liccardo believes that many elderly individuals wish to move closer to their children but are hesitant to sell their homes due to the high capital gains tax on home sales, leading to a scarcity of housing supply in the market. He suggests that if Congress were to pass a new bill to increase the tax exemption on capital gains on homes, more elderly people would be willing to sell their homes. This would not only allow elderly individuals the opportunity to move nearer to their children for family reunions but also increase the volume of home sales in the market, thereby lowering housing prices for young people to afford. Moreover, with an increase in home turnover and sales, the government would generate more tax revenue. This approach would be a win-win solution.
Liccardo told the voters present at the gathering that these types of policies would garner support from both the Democratic and Republican parties. He emphasized that if elected, he would propose a series of similar policies that could receive bipartisan support. His goal is not to become a lifelong incumbent but to be a representative who can solve problems for the voters.