Obama Addresses Corporate Inversions, Calls Tax Loophole ‘Insidious’

By JOHN PARKINSON MARGARET CHADBOURN
Apr 5, 2016, 12:25 PM ET

President Obama slammed corporate inversions today as "insidious" and argued that Americans end up paying "the tab" when U.S. companies exploit tax loopholes.

The Treasury Department announced on Monday that it was taking additional steps to discourage companies from using a tax loophole known as corporate inversion – that is when a U.S. company buys a foreign competitor and then moves overseas to reduce its tax bill.

Obama said he hopes the Treasury's steps will end the practice, and also called on lawmakers to help eliminate loopholes that he said benefit the wealthy and corporations.

"It sticks the rest of us with the tab and it makes hard-working Americans feel like the deck is stacked against them," Obama said.

In 2009, when the U.S. economy was crumbling, Obama first offered a plan to crack down on corporate tax loopholes. Business groups rallied against his proposal, arguing it would hurt the weak economy. Democrats in Congress also turned against Obama, and the loophole survived.

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