Companies' Plea for Tax Reform—for Everyone Else
Companies want a simpler code while keeping their own perks
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As part of an effort to revamp the 4 million-word tax code, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp invited Americans to send suggestions to Congress. More than 300 companies and business groups chimed in this spring, many with the same message: An overhaul is a great idea—as long as it doesn’t affect us.
Camp, a Michigan Republican, wants to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. To do that without reducing government revenue, Congress will have to get rid of many tax breaks. Companies are saying “they want the best of both worlds,” says Representative Kenny Marchant, a Texas Republican. “They want to keep all their deductions and have a lower rate.”