Fox News' Gregg Jarrett grilled Lanhee Chen, Mitt Romney's campaign policy director, over the specific changes the Republican candidate wants to make to the tax code on Friday.
Romney has proposed cutting some tax breaks for the wealthy in order to slash individual income taxes by 20 percent. However, the candidate has declined to say which cuts he would make under the plan.
Jarrett criticized the campaign over the issue in an interview with Chen on "America's Newsroom." "[Romney's] not saying which of the loopholes and deductions and credits and exemptions he wants to close," the Fox News host said. "That is huge. That’s significant. How can he not tell the American people those facts?"
Chen responded that the plan would "get rid of some of this underbrush, some of the deductions and some of the exemptions that are clouding our tax code."
"But why won’t he explain how and which ones and by how much?" Jarrett pressed.
Chen said that bipartisan commissions have already laid out the necessary steps and that Romney would provide the "presidential leadership" to implement them.
"But Mr. Chen, forgive me, you’re just not answering my question," Jarrett said. "So let me put it again: which loopholes and deductions and credits and exemptions the President’s going to get rid of would affect all Americans. Before they cast their ballot, don’t they deserve to know which ones are going, which ones are not, and by how much?"
Chen said that Romney would try to "curb deductions for high-income taxpayers," and that there are "different deductions and exemptions" that could be eliminated to achieve the goals.
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