Barack Obama again seeks to pare tax breaks for corporations, wealthiest
President Barack Obama will renew his bid to curb tax breaks prized by corporations and the wealthiest Americans in a speech on Tuesday laying out his legislative agenda, but the proposals are sure to face familiar roadblocks from congressional Republicans.
The president will propose to "reform our business tax code, (lower) the corporate tax rate with an even lower rate for manufacturers," and set a minimum tax on offshore earnings, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House ahead of the annual State of the Union address to Congress.
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If the plan sounds familiar, it should, because the ideas largely mirror those Obama pitched in his address a year ago. Since then, he won re-election campaigning on tax fairness and Republicans lost congressional seats, but even the president's backers say they face a tough road.
"Unless Republicans have a real 'come to Jesus moment,' it is difficult to imagine them supporting many or any of these provisions," said Jim Manley, a former top adviser to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The speech comes as another fiscal crisis brews in a stand-off between the White House and congressional Republicans, this time over automatic spending cuts set to kick in on March 1.
Obama and fellow Democrats back a mix of revenue and tailored spending cuts to avoid what is known as the "sequester," while Republicans oppose any tax increases.
Democrats and Republicans both say they want a full-scale revamp of the US tax code - but they are far
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