Booker proposes to cap rent paid by Americans to 30% of their income

As part of a broader plan to make housing more affordable, Senator Cory Booker (DN.J.) proposed Wednesday a tax credit that would cap the rent that most Americans pay to 30% of their income – a gesture that his presidential campaign said would help 57 million people.

The publication of Booker's proposals is among the projects of several Democratic candidates on a wide range of topics for the first party debate at the end of the month. Although Booker has traveled extensively in the first named states, he has not yet gained popularity in polls among overcrowded Democrats.

With the publication of his proposals on Wednesday, Booker sought to highlight his tenure as mayor of Newark, during which his administration made significant investments in the housing stock of the city in difficulty.

"Access to safe and affordable housing is a central theme of my life and career in politics," Mayor Booker 2006-2013 said in a statement. "Housing is a basic need and a fundamental right. And Americans should not have to face insurmountable financial challenges to protect themselves.

[Cory Booker and the Orthodox rabbi were like brothers. Now they don’t speak.]

According to Booker's plan, anyone who pays more than 30% of his pre-tax income would be eligible for a tax credit that would cover the difference between 30% of his income and the fair market rent in his neighborhood.

Booker's campaign indicated a research from Columbia University suggesting that the median credit for a family benefiting from such a proposal would be $ 4,800.

Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Other Democrat, proposed a similar measure. Other Democrats, including Sense Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) And Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), have also developed housing plans.

Booker's plan also calls for more funding for rural housing, zoning reforms that he says would result in more affordable housing, and increased legal protection for people facing deportation. It also includes a previously announced "baby guarantee" proposal, which would give each child a $ 1,000 bond savings account at birth. This proposal aims to generate substantial savings in order to allow a down payment on a house.

Booker's campaign said his plan would be fully funded by canceling the changes to the estate tax under President Trump and increasing several other taxes that had been reduced by the Republican tax law enacted in 2017.