NAHB split over tax break

Two factions within the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) are at odds over a proposed tax break, and the rift could break apart the organization and cost the director his job, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The issue is whether large, publicly traded home builders should be able to apply current losses against profits made five years ago. This tax break, currently being debated as part of President Barack Obama’s budget plan, is drawing opposition from small builders who say it could tilt the playing field against them, according to the Wall Street Journal. Jerry Howard, the NAHB’s chief executive, expressed these concerns to Congress, a move that outraged the organization’s big builders, the newspaper reported.

Representatives from KB Home, Centex and Pulte Homes reportedly met with the NAHB leadership in Chicago yesterday to discuss the issue and their continued involvement in the 200,000-member trade organization.