NBC overheard Mitt Romney spilling some details at a fundraiser yesterday about what policies he’d like to implement as president, something Romney has been careful in public to only describe in vague terms. Romney said he was considering eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development; he also is thinking about either decreasing or combining with another department the Department of Education. And he had this to say about taxes:
Democrats have argued that Romney’s tax proposals would disproportionately help the wealthy, but on Sunday, Romney identified specific loopholes and deductions for the wealthy that he would eliminate in order to both finance his tax cut, and ensure that the nation’s top earners face the same tax burden they do today.
“I’m going to probably eliminate for high income people the second home mortgage deduction,” Romney said, adding that he would also likely eliminate deductions for state income and property taxes as well.
“By virtue of doing that, we’ll get the same tax revenue, but we’ll have lower rates,” Romney explained. “The nice thing about lower rates is that small businesses not get to keep a larger share of what they’re earning and plow it back in to hire more people and expand their business.”
UPDATE: Former senator Jim Talent, a Romney surrogate, stressed in a conference call with reporters today what Romney had said at the fundraiser should be taken as him talking about policies, not outlining what he would do as president. “He was discussing ideas that came up at the meeting,” Talent said, adding, “He’s already announced very detailed proposals for the economy.”