In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies that they now enjoy. Corporations with overseas operations would also face an unspecified minimum tax on their foreign earnings.
The proposal outlined by Geithner would also eliminate tax loopholes and subsidies that Geithner called ‘‘fundamentally unfair.’’
Obama also would set a minimum tax on the foreign earning of US companies.
‘‘We want to restore a system in which American businesses succeed or fail based on the products they make and the services they provide, not on the creativity of their tax engineers or the lobbyists they hire,’’ Geithner said.
Chances of accomplishing such change in the tax system are slim in a year dominated mostly with presidential and congressional elections. But for Obama, the proposal is part of a larger tax plan that is central to his re-election strategy.
Geithner acknowledged that the debate ‘‘will be politically contentious.’’
‘‘Some will say these proposals are too tough on business, and others will say that they’re not tough enough,’’ he said.
Obama’s plan would be part of a larger effort to overhaul the US tax system and it dovetails with Obama’s call for raising taxes on millionaires and maintaining current rates on individuals making $200,000 or less.
While the 35 percent nominal corporate tax rate ranks among the highest, deductions, credits and exemptions allow many corporations to pay taxes at a much lower rate.
Under the framework proposed by the administration, the rate cuts, closed loopholes and the minimum tax on overseas earning would result in no increase to the deficit.
That means that many businesses that slip through loopholes or enjoy subsidies and pay an effective tax rate that is substantially less than the 35 percent corporate tax could end up paying more under Obama’s plan. Others, however, would pay less while some would simply benefit from a more simplified system.
Reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent would reduce tax revenues by about $700 billion over the next decade, according to an estimate prepared in October by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeeper for Congress.
