RATE Coalition Calls on Obama, Congress to Reduce Corporate Tax Rate

The RATE Coalition, whose members and affiliated companies employ roughly 30 million people across all 50 states, applauded the President for his recognition of the need to reform the tax code, making it fairer and simpler and improving the prospects of growth and jobs in the U.S. economy.

"We agree with President Obama -- American companies get hit with the highest rates in the world. The RATE Coalition is pleased to send the President the best idea we have to get the economy moving again -- reduce the current federal corporate income tax rate down from the counter-productively high rate of 35 percent," said Elaine Kamarck, RATE Co-Chair and former advisor to President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. "The President's recent Jobs Council report highlighted the fact that 'a reduction in the rate combined with a broadening of the base could encourage more investment in the United States.' We are confident that Americans of all political stripes share the President's goal of renewed prosperity and are hoping for pro-job, pro-growth tax reform in 2012."

"Tonight, we applaud the President for addressing this issue as a fundamental improvement in our ability to compete economically with other nations," said James P. Pinkerton, RATE Co-Chair and former White House domestic policy adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. "The 35 percent rate means that American companies are disproportionately burdened as they seek to compete in the global marketplace. The President and the Congress should work together to improve American competitiveness through fundamental tax reform for the sake of economic growth and more jobs."

Reforming the corporate tax code create jobs, decrease economic uncertainty and help America regain the competitive edge:

• Reducing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent would create an average of 581,000 jobs in the U.S. annually from 2011 to 2020.

• Reducing the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate to 25 percent (the average OECD rate) could boost GDP by 2.2 percent and increase employment by 2.13 million workers.

• The U.S. and Japan have the highest corporate tax rates in the OECD. Between 2000 and 2011, the U.S. suffered a net loss of 46 Fortune Global 500 company headquarters. Japan lost a net of 39.

• The corporate income tax is the most harmful tax for long-term economic growth. A 2010 World Bank study demonstrated that corporate tax rates have a "large and significant adverse" effect on investment.

About RATE Coalition: RATE is a coalition of 25 companies and organizations advocating for sensible corporate tax reform. Making the tax code fairer and simpler will help spur job growth and stimulate the U.S. economy, and make us more competitive globally. RATE members currently include: AT&T, Altria Client Services Inc., Association of American Railroads, Boeing, Capital One, Cox Enterprises, CVS Caremark, FedEx, Ford, General Dynamics, Home Depot, Intel, Kimberly-Clark, Lockheed Martin, Macy's, National Retail Federation, Nike, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, Time Warner Cable, T-Mobile, UPS, Verizon, Viacom and Walt Disney. RATE members and affiliated companies represent over 30 million employees in all 50 states and support innumerable suppliers and small businesses. More information about the coalition is available at www.RATEcoalition.com.