Report: Cliff talks could include corporate tax reform

Obama administration officials have told Republicans they are willing to discuss an overhaul of the corporate tax code as part of negotiations over the fiscal cliff, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

White House officials didn’t propose any specific reforms, but left the door open to addressing corporate tax rates sometime in 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials with knowledge of the talks.

President Obama released a proposal outlining potential corporate tax code changes in February, while a key Republican platform during the 2012 campaign called for the reduction of corporate tax rates coupled with the reduction or closure of certain loopholes and deductions.

The report comes as more than 150 chief executives signed a Dec. 11 letter sent to President Obama by the Business Roundtable that calls for immediate action to avert the fiscal cliff.

“We pledge our active support for a compromise that includes comprehensive and meaningful tax and entitlement reforms that result in market-credible spending reductions and revenue growth,” the CEOs wrote. “Compromise will require Congress to agree on more revenue – whether by increasing rates, eliminating deductions, or some combination thereof – and the administration to agree to larger, meaningful structural and benefit entitlement reforms and spending reductions that are a fiscally responsible multiple of increased revenues.”