Follow the conversation about the financial crisis in Ireland … and you will notice one measure missing from the austerity package. Ireland has no intention of altering its prized corporate tax rate — at 12.5 percent one of the lowest in Europe and viewed as critical to developing exports and creating jobs. …

Germany, France and others have grumbled about the Irish policy. But they, too, have lowered their corporate tax rates the past 20 years. …

One country that hasn’t followed the trend? The United States, though, thankfully, that may soon change. In discussing ways to deal with this country’s fiscal challenges, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the co-chairmen of the president’s deficit commission, proposed lowering the corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent to somewhere in the mid-20s. …

Why reduce tax rates if the goal involves plugging a budget hole? This step amounts to sound policymaking. The corporate tax system suffers from an array of credits, exemptions, deductions and loopholes. Broaden the tax base by addressing such flaws, and the door opens to reducing the overall rate.

More, the country must take the step as a matter of competitiveness. A lower corporate tax rate … would help to attract foreign investment here, the flow of money leading to increased economy activity and jobs. …

Akron Beacon Journal