Kudlow: Will Romney Cap Tax Deductions at 17K?
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GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is looking at reducing income tax deductions to a flat $17,000.
Romney presented the idea during an interview with a local television station in Denver.
CNBC's Larry Kudlow is troubled by the proposal, at least at first glance. “I don’t want middle class taxes to go up at all."
Kudlow's biggest concern is the mortgage deduction.
A $300,000 mortgage with an interest rate of 6 percent would end up with $18,000 a year in mortgage interest, writes The Hill, which also reported the Romney proposal.
"I have to see the details because I can't get behind this idea until I know middle class taxes will not go up, said Kudlow. (Limiting deductions theoretically increases taxes.)
Although Kudlow has stated emphatically that Romney must reveal specifics about his tax plan in order to win the election, he said: "I want Romney to red line all middle class deductions – leave them alone.”
Following is the comment that has generated so much stir as reported by the website The Hill.
"As an option you could say everybody's going to get up to a $17,000 deduction; and you could use your charitable deduction, your home mortgage deduction, or others — your healthcare deduction. And you can fill that bucket, if you will, that $17,000 bucket that way," Romney said in an interview with Denver's FOX31.
"And higher-income people might have a lower number."
Tune in:
"The Kudlow Report" airs weeknights at 7 p.m. ET.
