Obama Laments 'Screwy' Tax Code

President Barack Obama has admitted that the U.S. tax code is something of a mess, the Washington Wire blog of the Wall Street Journal reports. The president called the current tax system “kind of screwy” on Wednesday at a town hall in Pennsylvania.

Talking up a proposal to revamp business taxes, Obama said he wants to “lower the rate for corporations,” which is one of the highest in the world, “but eliminate a bunch of the loopholes so that everybody is paying the same and it’s fair.”

Corporate taxes have become a hot-button issue since revelations that General Electric paid no federal federal income taxes in 2010 and even got a refund. GE has said it expects its tax bill to be higher in 2011.