U.S. Senator Hatch says 25 percent corporate rate a challenge in tax reform

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(Reuters) - Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration face a challenge reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate to 25 percent, let alone to the 15 percent rate sought by President Donald Trump, the Senate's top tax law writer said on Monday.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, in an interview with Reuters, said that getting the corporate rate to 25 percent from 35 percent would bring a sea change to the U.S. economy. But he added that bipartisan cooperation may be necessary for tax reform to succeed.

The Utah Republican's comments mark the first time that a member of the "Big Six" principals involved in high-level tax reform talks has described a 25 percent corporate tax rate as a challenge. In recent weeks, officials have described a target range of 20 to 25 percent. He described Trump's 15 percent proposal as "very unlikely".

"In fact, it would be kind of miraculous if we could get it down to 25 percent or less. I'd like to get it down to around 20 percent. I'd love to get it at 15 percent if we could," Hatch said. "But I think the odds are, we’re going to be lucky to get it down at all."

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