GOP Reaction Mixed to Obama’s Corporate Tax Proposal

Reaction among Republicans is mixed, after a proposal today from President Barack Obama for a lower corporate tax rate and an end to dozens of loopholes that Obama says have helped companies move jobs and profits overseas.

Obama's plan would set a new 28-percent corporate tax rate, down from the current 35 percent but still higher than the 25 percent rate sought by Republicans.

The Republican head of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp, says Obama should be offering an overhaul of the entire tax system. He called it a "good step by the administration" but urged the president to "keep going" -- echoing Obama's own words to Congress yesterday on the economy.

But Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah is dismissing Obama's plan as "a set of bullet points designed more for the campaign trail."

Under the framework proposed by the administration, the rate cuts and closed loopholes would result in no increase to the deficit. That means that many businesses that currently slip through loopholes or somehow pay an effective tax rate that is substantially less than the 35 percent corporate tax could end up paying more. Others would pay less, while some would simply benefit from a more simplified system.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)