|
 |
 |
|
Democrats largely embrace Obama tax framework
Top Democratic lawmakers embraced President Obama’s newly released corporate tax reform framework on Wednesday, even as the proposal landed with a thud among their GOP counterparts.
The White House framework seeks to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, from its current 35 percent, and push the rate even lower for U.S. manufacturers.
The rate reduction would be paid for by eliminating a slew of tax preferences, including incentives used by the oil-and-gas industry and the so-called “carried interest” break popular in the private-equity sector.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also said Wednesday that the administration viewed its plan as a way to spark a conversation with lawmakers on how to overhaul the tax code, a discussion congressional Democrats said they were eager to join.
“There is certainly more work to be done, but this framework from the Administration makes an important contribution and helps advance the discussion on tax reform,” Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, said in a statement. “Businesses are looking for certainty, simplicity and fairness, and replacing the patchwork we have right now with a modern tax system will be a major shot in the arm for our economy.”
Still, the Democratic praise came as many Republicans on Capitol Hill and around Washington viewed the new tax ideas with suspicion.
Top Republican tax-writers such as Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah are among those that have said the corporate and individual codes should be revamped together, given that many small businesses are taxed on the individual side.
Some Republicans also said that the administration plan was a tax hike and took issue with the idea of forcing U.S. corporations with offshore operations to pay a “basic minimum tax.”
Republicans and many business groups instead want to shift the United States to a system that would shield most foreign profits from American taxation.
But for the most part, Democratic lawmakers backed the ideas outlined by the White House.
“The administration has put the focus of corporate tax reform where it needs to be: on promoting investment, job creation and especially manufacturing in the United States, not overseas,” Rep. Sandy Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.
For his part, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, applauded the administration for saying it wanted to reform the tax code without adding to the deficit and said Obama’s framework would encourage manufacturers to create jobs in the United States.
“The test of any business tax reform proposal is whether it makes America more competitive, whether it makes our tax code more efficient, and whether it is achievable in a fiscally responsible manner,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “President Obama’s recently announced framework meets all of those tests.”
But other Democrats were less effusive in their praise. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, for instance, called on the president to push for an overhaul of both the corporate and individual codes, saying that had proven to generate investment and job creation.
“Reforming the tax code is a must,” said Wyden, who has introduced a tax reform plan with Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.). “Taking a piecemeal approach instead of a comprehensive reform of both codes at the same time will dampen the economic effect that comprehensive tax reform has been shown to produce.”
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
