News
Rush
continued from page 5
Shannon) identifying himself as the Dean of Students asks
permission to take possession of the parcel.
Wilee’s suspicion is aroused when Dean Ackerman inex-
plicably goes ballistic when denied. And that concern esca-
lates to fear when the guy starts frothing at the mouth and
gives chase by auto, running lights and driving against traf-
fic.
The plot thickens further when the pedal-pushing protag-
onist stops at the police station to report the attempted theft.
There, he discovers that he’s on his own because Ackerman,
lo and behold, is ostensibly a crooked police officer with a
hidden agenda and a pecuniary interest in hijacking the
package.
Like a compelling cross of Crank (2006) and 16 Blocks
(2006), Premium Rush unfolds at a breakneck pace that
doesn’t give you a chance to pause and wonder whether
what you’re watching is even credible. But nothing else
matters when such an urgent roller coaster ride, or should I
say bike ride, manages to keep you on the edge of your seat
for its dizzying duration.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, ethnic slurs
and profanity.
In English and Mandarin with subtitles.
Running time: 91 minutes
Distributor: Sony Pictures Home
Entertainment
DVD Extras: The Starting Line: Meet the
Cast; and Behinds the Wheels: Action,
Stunts and Chases.
Clock Ticking On Mortgage Tax
Break For Struggling Homeowners
By Les Christie
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A tax
break that has saved struggling home-
owners from paying thousands of dol-
lars to the IRS is just days away from
expiring.
If the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt
Relief Act of 2007 does not get
extended by Congress by the end of
the year, homeowners will have to
start paying income taxes on the por-
tion of their mortgage that is forgiven
in a foreclosure, short sale or principal
reduction.
That means if someone owes
$150,000 on their home and it sells for
$100,000 in a foreclosure auction, they
could owe taxes on the remaining
$50,000. For someone in the 25 per-
cent tax bracket, that would mean pay-
ing $12,500 in taxes on the
foreclosure. Similar taxes would apply
for amounts that were forgiven in short
sales and principal reductions.
"Allowing the act to expire would
harm these families and their commu-
nities and it would run counter to cur-
rent loss mitigation efforts," wrote Tim
Pawlenty, president of the Financial
Services Roundtable, Mike Calhoun,
president of the Center for Responsi-
ble Lending, and John Dalton, presi-
dent of the Housing Policy Counsel in
a letter to the Senate Finance Commit-
tee.
So far, though, very little has been
done to extend the act as Republicans
and Democrats continue to butt heads
over the fiscal cliff.
MORE THAN 50,000
FORECLOSURES A
MONTH
Many mortgage borrowers would be
affected. More than 50,000 homeown-
ers lose homes to foreclosure each
month. Meanwhile, the number of
short sales has tripled over the past
three years to a rate of about half a mil-
lion a year. And, under the terms of the
$25 billion foreclosure abuse settle-
ment, roughly one million borrowers
may have their mortgage debt lowered
through principal reductions over the
next couple of years.
"If there ever was a no-brainer in
housing policy, this would be it," said
Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst for
Guggenheim Securities.
Congress may return to the act after
the other fiscal cliff issues are
resolved, but by then the housing mar-
ket will have taken a hit, said Elise
Brooks Perkins, communications
director for the Financial Services
Roundtable. "It can be done retroac-
tively, but the lag time will have a
chilling effect on homeowners consid-
ering a short-sale," she said.
Most short sellers will not follow
through on sales to closing without
debt forgiveness in place. Instead
they'll fight foreclosure, prolonging
the housing crisis.
Congressman Brad Miller, however,
said he doesn't see debt forgiveness
passing unless it's part of a larger fiscal
cliff deal.
PRICE TAG IS $1.3
BILLION
Still, the price tag for the such an
exemption could make it a point of
contention, said Seiberg. The office of
Sen. Max Baucus, who heads the Sen-
ate Finance Committee, estimated the
cost of a one-year extension at $1.3
billion.
Even if Congress allowed the mort-
gage debt forgiveness to expire, not all
borrowers who lose their home to fore-
closure, sell their home in a short sale
or have their principal reduced will
take a tax hit. If the debt is discharged
in a bankruptcy, no tax is due. And
anyone who is insolvent -- meaning
they have more debt than assets -- at
the time the debt was forgiven would
not have to pay the tax.
And in some states like California,
certain borrowers are protected against
paying the tax because of the way the
state treats foreclosures.
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December 26, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 7