Caterpillar wants a lower corporate tax rate

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Group President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Rapp wants a lower corporate tax rate and a simpler tax code so the company can compete internationally.

“In our business, when we want to assess our competitiveness versus a key competitor, we take a very simple approach. We buy one of their machines, take it to a test facility and tear it down. We need to tear down the U.S. tax code. There are valuable lessons to be learned from tax reform efforts undertaken by other nations in recent years that would be instructive as we look to make improvements to the U.S. system,” Rapp said.

Rapp says the United States currently has the second highest corporate tax rate among developed countries, which puts Caterpillar at a competitive disadvantage against foreign competitors.