The mortgage-interest tax deduction failed to make it into the Republican party’s economic platform after the party opted for a simpler tax code, with fewer reductions, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At one point, members of the GOP launched a proposal backing the inclusion of the deduction into the party’s platform. If it had been accepted, the party would have adopted the “We must preserve the mortgage interest deduction” line into its official economic plan.

Instead, the proposal created a dividing line between GOP members who see the deduction as a crucial stepping stone to homeownership and party leaders who believe a simpler tax code is needed overall.

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