Homebuilders’ group spent $600,000 in second-quarter lobbying on taxes, construction lending

NAHB spent $600,000 lobbying in second quarter

WASHINGTON — The homebuilding industry’s main trade association spent $600,000 in the second quarter lobbying Congress, the White House and several government agencies on housing, taxes, construction lending and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

That’s about 23 percent less than the $780,000 that the National Association of Home Builders shelled out on lobbying in the same quarter a year ago. It spent $410,000 on lobbying in the first quarter of this year.

The NAHB also lobbied the federal government on legislation involving immigration, labor, banking, air and water quality, energy, small business, torts, transportation, the environment and consumer issues, according to the report filed on July 20.

Builders on the trade association’s roster account for 80 percent of the new homes built in the U.S. each year.

The group lobbied on several housing-related issues during the latest quarter, including bills aimed at boosting loans for residential construction and rural homeowners and reforming residential flood insurance.

The group also lobbied on several proposed changes in the tax code, including a bill extending a tax credit for contractors build energy-efficient homes and a proposed tax on carried interest at the rate of ordinary tax rates.

Carried interest, which are the share of profits above a certain level earned for investors by fund managers, are currently taxed at the same rate as capital gains.

Homebuilders saw new home orders and sales rise in the spring thanks to low mortgage interest rates and homebuyer tax credits.

But the government incentives pulled demand forward and sales have weakened since the tax credit expired April 30.

Sales of new U.S. homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record. Sales rebounded in June, but it was the second-weakest month on record.

And high unemployment, slow job growth and tight credit continue to keep many people from buying homes, raising uncertainty over when sales will recover now that there’s no government incentive for buyers.

In addition to lobbying Congress and the White House in the second quarter, the trade association also lobbied the departments of Labor, Energy, Treasury, as well as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Michael Linskey, who worked for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Alex Strong, who worked for former Rep. Bob Riley, R-Ala., were among those lobbying on behalf of the group.