Obama Tax-Code Overhaul May Raise Burden on Some Businesses

President Barack Obama laid the groundwork for reducing the corporate tax rate and simplifying the tax code in his State of the Union address. He also erected a political hurdle to these efforts as they could lead to higher rates for millions of businesses.

Obama said in the Jan. 25 speech that he wants to rid a “rigged” tax code of “loopholes” that allow some corporations to pay less than others, and would use the savings to reduce the top 35 percent corporate rate, one of the world’s highest. He also called for “millionaires to give up their tax break” after an extension of Bush-era tax cuts expires in 2013.