Sticking to his opposition to outsourcing jobs to countries such as India, President Barack Obama has said that he wants to give tax breaks to companies that are investing in the United States.
During an intense debate with his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, Obama noted that the corporate tax rate is too high, which he wants to bring down, particularly for manufacturing, taking it down to 25 per cent.
“But I also want to close those loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to provide tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the US,” the President said in a face off with Romney in the first of the three crucial debates ahead of the November 6 Presidential polls.
Obama had earlier also gone full blast against Romney, former Massachusetts Governor, on the issue, accusing him of outsourcing American jobs to countries such as India and China.
“There was an article the other day in The Washington Post about how Romney’s former firm — you know, this is what gave him all this amazing success — was a pioneer in offshoring jobs to China and India,” Obama had said at an election rally in Atlanta, Georgia, recently.
When it comes to corporate taxes, the President said during the debate, Romney has stated “he wants to, in a revenue neutral way, close loopholes, deductions — he hasn’t identified which ones they are — but that thereby bring down the corporate rate.”
“Well, I want to do the same thing, but I’ve actually identified how we can do that. And part of the way to do it is to not give tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.
“Right now, you can actually take a deduction for moving a plant overseas. I think most Americans would say that doesn’t make sense...,” Obama said.
However, Romney disagreed. “The ... topic, which ... you said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I’ve been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I may need to get a new accountant,” he said.
“The idea that you get a break for shipping jobs overseas is simply not the case,” Romney said.
“What we do have right now is a setting — where I’d like to bring money from overseas back to this country,” Romney asserted, ignoring three interruptions from the moderator who was trying to tell him that his time was over.