Software giant Microsoft has issued a stern threat to the Obama administration over its concerns of the US income tax deferral regime.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, said the company would be ‘better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the US’, particularly given current constraints of the the US corporate tax system, according to tax-news.com

US multinational company are able to deduct foreign investment against US taxes, and defer paying tax on any profits made until its brought back to the US. The White House has proposed a plan which would mean companies would not receive a deduction on offshore investments until tax has been paid on offshore profits.

The measure is expected to result in an additional $60.1bn (£37bn) of tax revenue for the US treasury.