First-time homebuyers tax credit: Should Congress end it or extend it?

While headlines in newspapers across the country today focus on the possibility that hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims may have been paid out under the first-time homebuyers tax credit, there's an even more a pressing matter regarding the credit that must be dealt with soon: Should the tax credit be extended past Nov. 30? If so, how large should the tax credit be, and for how long should it be available?

Despite the possibly significant number of the frauds, which were revealed Thursday by the Treasury Department and the IRS in testimony before the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, there's bipartisan support for extending the first-time homebuyers tax credit, with over two dozen bills seeking to keep it going in some form. Clearly, based on existing homes sales figures, the credit is working.