The President's Framework for Business Tax Reform, (the 'Framework') released earlier today by the White House and the U.S. Treasury Department, focuses on five elements. The jist of the proposal, as framed in the title of Treasury's press release, is that the Framework would 'Enhance America's Competitiveness...' by "Simplify[ing] the Tax Code, Eliminat[ing] Dozens of Tax Loopholes and Subsidies, and Incentiviz[ing] Job Creation [and] Investment at Home."  See also the related Statement issued by President Barack Obama, and the related Remarks of  U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Framework's Five Elements

The five elements emphasized in the Administration's tax reform Framework, as summarized in Treasury's press release, are:  

1. Eliminate dozens of tax loopholes and subsidies, broaden the base and cut the corporate tax rate to spur growth in America: The framework eliminates dozens of different tax expenditures and fundamentally reforms the business tax base to reduce distortions that hurt productivity and growth. It reinvests these savings to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, putting the United States in line with major competitor countries and encouraging greater investment.  
2. Strengthen American manufacturing and innovation: The framework would refocus the manufacturing deduction and use the savings to reduce the effective rate on manufacturing to no more than 25 percent, while encouraging greater research and development and the production of clean energy.  
3. Strengthen the international tax system, including establishing a new minimum tax on foreign earnings, to encourage domestic investment: Our tax system should not give companies an incentive to locate production overseas or engage in accounting games to shift profits abroad, eroding the U.S. tax base. Introducing the principle of a minimum tax on foreign earnings would help address these problems and discourage a global race to the bottom in tax rates.  
4. Simplify and cut taxes for America’s small businesses: Tax reform should make tax filing simpler for small businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can focus on growing their businesses rather than filling out tax returns.  
5. Restore fiscal responsibility and not add a dime to the deficit: Business tax reform should be fully paid for and lead to greater fiscal responsibility than our current business tax system by either eliminating or making permanent and fully paying for temporary tax provisions now in the tax code.