(Image Source: Education View)

BY CODY LAGROW

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

President Obama wants to revamp the corporate tax code. Here’s the details, from CNN.

“The proposal would lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 28% ... The plan would also get rid of some corporate tax breaks and limit the ability of corporations to shift their profits overseas.”   

According to The New York Times...

“The administration plan to revamp a corporate code that is widely derided as inefficient and anti-competitive has been in the works at Treasury for two years...”

CBS reports — members of both parties have shown interest in overhauling the tax system, and many businesses are on board as well.
 

“In coordination with a lot of corporations who have long said that this corporate tax rate is outdated. It should be changed. It should be scratched. iIt makes us uncompetitive. It should make the system simpler and fairer.”

So why is Mr. Obama rolling out this plan now? MSNBC’s Chuck Todd points out— the announcement comes around the same time GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is expected to talk taxes.

“We know what the Obama folks are up to. It’s a political release. But they’re announcing today a lowering of the corporate tax rate. Again, eyes always on the ball when it comes to Romney.”

But true problem solving or publicity stunt? A blogger for Slate says, there are several reasons why this is a smart move by the president.  

“First, this will be a move even the GOP House will have trouble resisting... Secondly, it will highlight the pragmatic side of Obama … appealing to the great American middle – the real prize in any US presidential election.”

But as The Huffington Post notes— 

“Such a plan is unlikely to please Obama's critics on the left, who argue that companies enjoy so many tax breaks that they end up paying far less than their fair share.”

The Associated Press notes — the administration is purposely leaving a lot of details out of the tax outline, leaving it to Congress to compromise on the specifics. But as analyst Greg Valliere tells Bloomberg— lawmakers won’t work it out anytime soon.

“In effect, the White House is saying, ‘Hey! We’re in favor of tax reform!’ Even though they know there’s virtually no chance of getting anything done this year.”

According to Fox Business— If the president’s plan does go through, it would be the first corporate tax code reform in 25 years.