Boehner to ask supercommittee to overhaul tax code

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will call on the deficit-reduction supercommittee to lay the foundation for an overhaul of the tax code in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday.

In an address timed as a response to President Obama’s jobs plan, Boehner plans to restate his opposition to tax increases either to pay for job-creation measures or to reduce the deficit, according to a preview circulated by his office. Yet the Speaker is expected to voice support for closing loopholes as part of broader tax reform, which could include eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and other industries.

Boehner will tout the GOP’s plan for job creation and urge both parties to “liberate America’s economy” by cutting taxes, spending and excessive regulation.

Obama has proposed eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan, and Boehner plans to argue that those tax proposals face bipartisan opposition. He will also criticize Obama’s push to have the supercommittee find measures to offset the cost of his jobs plan.

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