STUDY: $22 Billion Housing Tax Credit Program Utterly Failed as Economic Policy. “This paper finds that (1) the home buyer tax credits had an insignificant effect on the number of homes sold, (2) sellers in markets with low and stable prices captured most of the credit, and (3) The effects of the credits sharply reversed after expiration. … Rather than igniting ‘animal spirits’ or pulling housing demand forward from the distant future, the tax incentives were a simple redistribution of wealth.”