国际英语新闻：Obama charges GOP with blocking small business plan

Slashing corporate taxes -- the United States pays the second highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, after Japan -- would do more to spur the economy than extending credit to small businesses and signal that the United States is friendly to investment, Mathur contended.

It would also make the United States more competitive with the European economies, she said.

Barry Bosworth, a former presidential advisor and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, however, said corporate tax reductions have the weakest impact. The advantage of Obama's loan program, he said, is that it is temporary and most of the money will be paid back.

Still, most small businesses are likely to oppose the plan, as they want something bigger, such as permanent tax breaks, Bosworth said.