Romney Floats Limit on Tax Deductions

$17,000 would be the maximum

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney floated a $17,000 cap on tax deductions, a proposal that could reconcile his pledge to lower tax rates with his promise to make the plan deficit-neutral. 

Limiting individual tax deductions could also hit the rich more than the middle class, which could help Romney ensure his plan lowers the effective tax burden on the middle class even as it could raise the tax burden on the wealthy. Romney has been under criticism from the Obama campaign for offering policies they say would benefit the rich and hurt the middle class.

Romney floated the idea the day before his first debate with President Obama during an interview with a local television station in Denver.