Romney tells voters 'don't be expecting a huge cut in taxes'

Mitt Romney told voters in Ohio on Wednesday that his plan to widely overhaul the tax code would not result in a huge tax cut for them. 

The GOP nominee, who has been pushing back on assertions that his tax math doesn’t add up, said that his plan to slash tax rates by 20 percent across the board would be offset by getting rid of various tax preferences.  

“By the way, don’t be expecting a huge cut in taxes, because I’m also going to lower deductions and exemptions,” Romney said, according to various news media reports. “But by bringing rates down, we’ll be able to let small businesses keep more of their money, so they can hire more people.”

The comments illustrate the fine line Romney is walking as he campaigns more and more on his ability to rein in deficits. 

Romney, whom polls show is increasingly behind in swing states, has long said that his tax plan would be revenue-neutral — that is, that the government would bring in the same amount of revenue under the reformed code as before. 

But Romney has also said he wanted to decrease the tax burden for the middle class, even as some analysts have said his proposal would shift the tax burden away from the wealthy and more onto the middle and lower class. 

In addition to his rate cut, Romney has called for keeping the 15 percent top rate on capital gains, and getting rid of capital gains taxes altogether for those making under $200,000 a year. He also has called for scrapping the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax. 

But the Tax Policy Center has said that Romney can’t follow through on those vows and not add to the deficit without forcing middle-class families to pay more. 

Another study by Martin Feldstein, an adviser to the Romney campaign and a onetime economic adviser for President Reagan, said that Romney’s plan was possible if the tax breaks for those making more than $100,000 a year were targeted. 

The Wednesday comments come a day after Romney, also in Ohio, said that President Obama had not raised taxes in his current term, in a reference to the White House’s push for tax increases on the wealthiest Americans. 

Romney’s campaign and other Republicans have made the case that Obama has raised taxes — including with the Democratic healthcare law — and a campaign spokeswoman later stressed that Romney was referring solely to Bush-era rates. 

The former Massachusetts governor has made a similar point about whether voters can expect an overall tax cut from him, including in a recent interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

“All the rates come down,” Romney said. “But unless people think there's going to be a huge reduction in the taxes they owe, that's really not the case, because we're also going to limit deductions and exemptions, particularly for people at the high end.

“Middle-income people will probably see a little break, because there'll be no tax on their savings,” he added. 

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