New York Times (01/25/12) Jonathan Weisman

President Obama used his State of the Union address to once again propose ending tax incentives that move jobs overseas. Obama has promised since his 2008 campaign for the presidency to change tax measures that he says lure American companies to invest and expand overseas, but the proposals have gone nowhere in the face of stiff opposition from corporations that say the proposals would kill their economic competitiveness.

The proposals Obama unveiled Tuesday night would simplify those earlier measures by creating an international minimum tax that companies with overseas profits would have to pay. Currently, companies with overseas operations can park their foreign profits offshore indefinitely and tax free. Obama also proposed a lower tax rate for domestic manufacturers and additional tax breaks for high-tech manufacturing.