US export companies urge Congress to push tax code rewrite

The building of US Congress in Washington DC

Sixteen American companies have urged the US Congress to rewrite a comprehensive tax code.

In a letter to Republican and Democratic leadership, the CEOs of the companies including Boeing Company, Caterpillar Inc. and General Electric Company said a border adjustment tax proposed by the Republicans would make US-manufactured products more competitive outside of the borders. They also noted that the proposal will also make imported goods face the same level of taxation at home.

"If we miss this chance to fundamentally reshape the tax code, it might take another 30 years before we have another chance to try," the letter said.

Earlier, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan proposed to decrease the corporate income tax to 20 percent from the current 35 percent. This will impose a 20 percent tax on imports and exclude export revenue from taxable income.

Media reports say, the proposed code has pitted large US corporations which require imports against the corporations that export much of their products.

Last week, a group of retail CEOs met with President Donald Trump and congressional leaders to discuss the negative impacts of the border adjustment tax on their products.

Trump is set to publish his tax proposal in the next couple of weeks. He has said the border adjustment tax is too "complicated".

His administration has said taxing goods from Mexico could fund construction of a wall along the nation's southern border.

Trump has already set in motion his plan to build an "impenetrable” border wall between the US and Mexico. The border is about 3,100 km long and traverses all sorts of terrain. Trump says the wall will cover 1,000 miles and natural obstacles will take care of the rest.