U.S. manufacturer tax cuts

A corporate tax-reform the White House is set to introduce is expected to call for tax cuts for U.S. manufacturers, administration officials said. President Barack Obama is also expected to propose lowering the top rate corporations pay, limit or eliminate certain tax breaks, and broaden the base of companies that pay taxes, Treasury Department officials said, without offering details of the reform blueprint. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, expected to announce the reform plan Wednesday, told the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 14, "We're going to propose a broad reform that will lower rates, broaden the base and eliminate or wipe out ... dozens and dozens and dozens of special tax preferences for businesses." Obama has called for ending tax breaks for companies that farm out jobs overseas and for lowering rates for U.S. businesses that create jobs at home. "Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas," Obama said in his State of the Union address Jan. 24. "Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it. So let's change it," he said. When he visited Master Lock Co. in Milwaukee Feb. 15, Obama called for tax cuts for U.S. manufacturers and higher taxes for companies that move overseas. Obama said in his State of the Union speech it was time to end subsidies and tax breaks for the oil industry, which "rarely has been more profitable," and time to offer additional tax credits to companies developing alternative energy sources. The top U.S. corporate-tax rate is 35 percent, among the world's highest, but many companies pay less due to credits, deductions, exclusions and exemptions, The Wall Street Journal said. Geithner suggested last year the corporate-tax rate should move toward the "high 20s" from its current level. He told the Senate committee last week he hoped both parties could lay the foundation for an overhaul of the system. "We actually think that there is a lot of common ground" among businesses, lawmakers and the administration," he said. Republicans have expressed interest in making corporate tax-code changes as well, and have pushed the White House to offer its proposal so both sides could engage in talks, the Journal reported.