The United States may soon wind up with a distinction that makes business leaders cringe — the highest corporate tax rate in the world.
But Nobody Pays That. American multinational corporations had become “world leaders in tax avoidance.”
Topping out at 35 percent, America’s official corporate income tax rate trails that of only Japan, at 39.5 percent, which has said it plans to lower its rate. It is nearly triple Ireland’s and 10 percentage points higher than in Denmark, Austria or China. To help companies here stay competitive, many executives say, Congress should lower tax rates.