[UPDATED] Zack Space Holds Conference Call On Foreclosure Tax

Yesterday afternoon Rep. Zack Space of Ohio's 18th district held a conference call with reporters to discuss some of his tax break proposals he's introducing as part of his "Tax Week" campaign.

Now I know what you're thinking, "what's 'tax week'?" I haven't had time to post about it yet, but Space has dubbed this week "Tax Week" because he was introducing several tax related bills in the House.

Yesterday's call dealt specifically with legislation before the House yesterday that would eliminate the foreclosure tax. A press release from Space's office describes the tax as follows:

As it stands now, the IRS taxes families on debt that the bank is unable to recover after foreclosing on and selling their houses. For example, a family takes out a mortgage on a home for, say, $100,000. They lose the home to foreclosure, and the bank sells the property for $70,000. The remaining $30,000 counts as “phantom income” on which the family must pay taxes.

You can listen to almost the entire conference call below. It's been divided into three parts.

This first part is Space's opening statement. It's followed by the stories of Janet Gibbs and Peggy Tanksley and the financial hardships they've been through.