What one thing could Obama do to give business a headache?
Raise corporate tax rates in the face of a worldwide recession. The timing could be disastrous. Q: He wants to close business tax loopholes. The public seems especially OK with that. A: You have to tie that to a reduction in the overall tax burden, the tax rate. Of the industrialized nations, the corporate tax rates in the U.S. are so high that they are second only to Japan. They’re lower in the European Union, and much lower in countries such as Ireland. High tax rates slow innovation, slow wealth creation and, at the end of the day, encourage companies to export our work offshore. Q: Business already has a migraine with a recession at hand. What one thing could Obama do to relieve it or make it shorter? A: He’s already on record supporting the financial bailout. That needs to play out. He’s been vocal about supporting a second stimulus package. That is going to be necessary. It must create jobs with things like infrastructure investment, or it will miss the mark. Q: The financial cri
