时事新闻:奥巴马公布税改方案

Barack Obama has proposed slashing the US corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 28 per cent in a move that could determine where global companies choose to invest.

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)提议把美国企业税税率由35%下调为28%，这一举措可能影响跨国公司选择投资目的地的决策。

The administration's plan would make the US a more attractive location for manufacturing and research, while imposing a minimum tax on profits US companies earn in offshore tax havens. It could also hit oil and gas companies by closing loopholes that lower their tax rate. "Our current corporate tax system is outdated, unfair and inefficient. It provides tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas and hits companies that choose to stay in America with one of the highest tax rates in the world," Mr Barack said. "It's not right and it needs to change."

奥巴马政府的计划将增强美国对制造及研发活动的吸引力，同时对美国公司在海外避税天堂赚取的利润征收最低限度税收。该计划还可能打击石油和天然气公司，堵上它们现在用来降低税率的一些漏洞。“我们现行的企业税制度是过时、不公平和低效率的。它为把就业和利润转移到海外的公司提供税收减免，却用全球最高税率之一打击选择留在美国的公司。”奥巴马表示，“它是不合理的，必须改革。”

Reforming the bafflingly complicated US tax system has support across the political spectrum in the US. Mitt Romney, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, also revealed his tax reform plans yesterday, announcing a new personal income tax plan that would cut all six of the current marginal rates by 20 per cent. The new rates would range between 8 and 28 per cent.

美国政界普遍支持改革错综复杂的美国税制。共和党总统候选人提名的热门人选米特•罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)昨日也公布了他的税改方案，拿出一项新的个人所得税计划，提出把现行的六类边际税率都削减20%。新税率将介于8%到28%。

Mr Obama wants to eliminate "dozens" of tax breaks including some for the oil and gas industry and private equity dealmakers. He also wants to consider limiting deductions on interest payments, which encourage businesses to raise debt rather than equity.

奥巴马希望取消“数十条”税收减免措施，其中包括一些面向油气行业和私人股本交易撮合者的优惠措施。他也希望限制利息支付得到的扣减，这类待遇鼓励企业发债。

"Because many of these subsidies flow to certain industries and not others, they are fundamentally unfair," said Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary.

美国财长蒂姆•盖特纳(Tim Geithner)表示：“因为许多这些补贴流向一些行业而没有流向别的行业，所以它们从根本上说是不公平的。”

By contrast, the administration wants to cut the top corporate tax rate on manufacturing income to 25 per cent. It also calls for making the tax credit for research and development permanent.

奥巴马政府希望把针对企业制造业务所得的最高税率下调为25%，并提出把面向研发的税收抵免永久化。

译者:何黎