Mitt Romney, who has thus far offered few details on how he would close loopholes or end tax deductions to pay for his tax cut plan, suggested on Tuesday that he would put a cap on overall deductions, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In an interview with a Fox affiliate in Colorado, Romney said by way of example that the number of available deductions for a middle class family could be capped at $17,000, and that the specific deductions they use to reach that number could be up to them. It did not appear to be a formal plan, according to The Journal.
"You could use your charitable deduction, your home-mortgage deduction, or others—your health-care deduction," Romney told KDVR in Denver, according to The Journal. "And you can fill that bucket, if you will, that $17,000 bucket that way." He added that, "higher-income people might have a lower number."
According to The Journal, roughly 30 percent of Americans file itemized deductions. For those who do not itemize, the standard deduction is $11,800 for married couples and $5,900 for singles.
The suggested cap would impact the rich more than others, according to Robertson Williams, a fellow at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, who was interviewed by The Journal.
Romney has proposed cutting taxes across the board by 20 percent.
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