Dems, GOP Back Push to Cut Corporate Tax Rate

With deficit reduction on the agenda and America's corporations sitting on a record amount of cash, Democrats and Republicans have found something they agree on: It's time to slash the corporate tax rate. Bipartisan support is building for plans to eliminate many loopholes and tax breaks and use the savings to reduce the corporate tax rate from the current 35%, which ranks among the highest in the world, reports the Los Angeles Times.

House Republicans want to cut the tax rate to 25%, while the Obama administration is aiming for a smaller cut. Supporters of slashing the rate argue that cutting tax breaks would create a more level playing field for firms unable to afford the armies of accountants that big firms use to reduce taxes. Hewlett-Packard, for example, paid an effective tax rate of 20.2% last year while GE coughed up just 7.4%. "The ones who would benefit most are in some sense the ones who have been playing by the rules. They aren't as good at finding lobbyists," said the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. (More corporate tax stories.)