Lawmakers from both parties on the deficit-reduction supercommittee said they agree the U.S. corporate tax rate should be lowered from its current maximum of 35 percent.

There was little agreement at the panel meeting today on which benefits in the tax code should be eliminated or curbed to pay for lowering the corporate rate. Also, the lawmakers didn't indicate that the panel would produce legislation by Nov. 23 that would push corporate rates lower.

“Most people do agree that such high tax rates make the United States a less attractive place in which to do business,” said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the Democratic co-chairman of the panel. “Instead of making and improving their widgets or hiring new people,” she said, businesses “spend too much time and effort devising business strategies aimed simply at tax avoidance.”