The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a new report on Monday that examines U.S. corporate tax rates in comparison to other countries with developed economies. The report finds that although the statutory tax rate on corporations in the U.S. is high (35 percent), the actual percentage of taxes paid (their effective tax rate) is well below the average of other similar countries. The U.S. corporate tax burden is smaller than average for developed countries.[1] Corporations in 19 of the member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development paid 16.1 percent of their profits in taxes between 2000 and 2005, on average, while corporations in the United States paid 13.4 percent. This report corrects the widely cited argument made by conservatives, including the Wall Street Journal, that the high statutory corproate tax rate in the U.S. needs to be cut (the WSJ goes so far as to say we should at least consider abolishing the corporate income tax). But as the WSJ itself recognizes, the real problem is the excessive tax loopholes, deductions, and exclusions that have been built into the tax code over time, not the statutory rate. The CBPP report and the Wall Street Journal both agree that reform of the corporate tax structure would like benefit everyone by reducing complexity and compliance costs for companies, providing for more efficiency in the economy, and bringing in the same amount if not more revenue for the government. From the CBPP report: Because the average U.S. corporate tax burden is low, many economists believe a revenue-neutral corporate tax reform that reduces statutory corporate tax rates, while broadening the tax base by eliminating costly tax breaks, could improve economic efficiency and likely benefit the U.S. economy. If CBPP and the Wall Street Journal are proposing the same plan on corporate tax reform of all things, don't you think someone should be listening? CBPP: PUTTING U.S. CORPORATE TAXES IN PERSPECTIVE WSJ: America the Uncompetitive