The
author most likely intended the “Reform and Corporate Taxes” article
for Americans interested in tax reform and who are already somewhat
informed about the current system. I also think the author intended this
as an informative article for readers who pay corporate tax and are
interested in how the 2012 presidential election may affect the
corporate tax system. Since the author discusses the Obama
Administration’s plan and framework, while noting at the end of the
article Republican nominee hopeful Romney’s suggested corporate tax
rate, it seems to be informative on the candidates’ plans.
The
article claims that corporate tax reform is needed; however, in order
to drop the rate, proposals must offer specific trade-offs and explain
how the drop would be made up for by explicitly mentioning which
loopholes would be dropped, while including numerical data. The author
claims that Obama’s proposal is not enough since dropping the rate and
eliminating the proposed loopholes would not bring up enough revenue.
Obama’s plan suggests dropping the current rate from 35 percent to 28
percent and eliminating many of the current loopholes in the corporate
tax system. The author thinks that dropping the rate that much cannot be
made up for simply by dropping subsidies. The author considers the
framework to also have shortcomings related to taxing foreign profits.
While it does call for a minimum on foreign earnings of American
profits, it does not go further with foreign profits which could result
in more revenue for the U.S. government by requiring multinationals pay
more. Although the author sees shortcomings in Obama’s current proposal,
he thinks it is more viable than Republican suggestions since they did
not mention specific ways to pay for the tax cut. He did mention that
Romney did propose dropping the rate to 25 percent by “broadening” the
corporate base; however, Romney did not mention any specific loopholes
he would end.
The
author seems to be credible in writing this general survey-type article
informing the audience of the big issues and explaining the possible
contrast in Obama’s plan and a Republican plan. The article does not
discuss a great deal of information or complex information, but since I
think he was trying to provide the audience with an overview, his
evidence and logic seem sufficient. Most of the evidence he included was
actually the lack of specific evidence presented, which seemed to
logically support the article’s proposition that detailed specifics need
to be included in these proposals from Obama and Republican candidates.
I did think the evidence contrasting the corporate tax on foreign
earnings of American companies and foreign profits added to his
argument. The fact that he did mention a few of the loopholes that Obama
specifically mentioned, (ending subsidies for oil and gas explorations,
corporate jets, and private equity partners) was helpful in
exemplifying things that would have to be eliminated in order to drop
the tax rate. I would have liked to have seen the author suggest some
other loopholes that could be cut or possibilities that candidates may
propose. The article seemed logical since he stated the problem that the
President faces in dropping this rate and how the public needs to be
informed by highlighting current proposals.
No comments:
Post a Comment