President Barack Obama hugs Amazon.com's Lydia Flanders. (Jessica McGowan, AFP/Getty Images)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? President Barack Obama on Tuesday offered congressional Republicans a new corporate tax cut and jobs spending package he said might "help break through some of the political logjam in Washington" only to have GOP lawmakers immediately throw cold water on the idea.
The announcement and quick rejection underscored how elusive common ground is between the Democratic White House and Republicans in Congress on fiscal issues. The divide was particularly stark on the corporate tax proposal given that both parties generally have supported overhauling the code for businesses, although the White House and Republicans have differed on specifics.
Obama outlined his proposal in a speech at a massive Amazon.com plant in Chattanooga, his latest stop on a summertime campaign to refocus his agenda on the economy. He said "serious people" in both parties should accept his offer.
"I'm willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs," Obama said. "That's the deal."
But the office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, complained that Obama's plan was simply a repackaging of proposals the White House has always supported.
"It's the opposite of a concession," spokesman Brendan Buck said, noting that Republicans want to link a corporate tax overhaul with changes in the individual tax code.
Like Republicans, the president previously has called for corporate tax reform to be coupled with an individual tax overhaul.
But his new offer drops that demand and calls only for lowering the corporate rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, with an even lower effective tax rate of 25 percent for manufacturers.
The White House also said the president will continue to seek changes to the individual tax rate as part of a larger "grand bargain" he wants with the GOP.
But with the prospects of such a deal growing increasingly slim, Obama advisers say they've opted to isolate an area on taxes where they believe they have more agreement with Republicans.
Tuesday's speech
The backdrop for Obama's remarks Tuesday was an Amazon.com fulfillment center, a massive, 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Chattanooga, Tenn. During a tour of the facility, Obama was shown how the company gets packages ready for delivery, from the employees who pull orders from three stories of floor-to-ceiling shelves, to loading into boxes sealed with water-activated tape and quality control
Amazon.com announced Monday that it would add 7,000 new jobs, including 5,000 more at U.S. distribution centers that currently employ about 20,000 workers who pack and ship customer orders.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dp-politics/~3/vjSqXeoqDUo/president-obamas-tax-code-plan-quickly-killed-by
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