Why Second Homes Deserve Tax Breaks

A columnist for the Hillsboro Argus in Oregon, Dolores Raymond, in the middle of a rant about immigrants, asks: "What makes a taxpayer affluent enough to own a vacation home at the beach, in addition to his primary residence, deserving of a tax credit for a second home? On the other hand, if the second home is provided as the rent free residence for a low income, elderly family member, that's another matter." The answer, I think, is that this nation believes that homeowners take better care of property than renters and wants to foster ownership. What a second home is used for is, indeed, another matter.