President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama IBTimes

President Barack Obama on Saturday urged changes in the U.S. tax code that would allow the government to collect taxes on companies that create foreign jobs.

Current U.S. tax policy is encouraging foreign job creation and profits by giving billions of dollars in tax breaks, the President said in his weekly address. The key to job creation at home is to encourage companies to invest more in the United States.

A lot of companies that do business internationally make an important contribution to our economy here at home. That's a good thing, the President said in his weekly address on Saturday. But there is no reason why our tax code should actively reward them for creating jobs overseas.

The comments come as the U.S. faces 9.6 percent unemployment and a slow economic recovery.

Politically, analysts expect that the public's concern with the economy will be favorable to the Republican party, allowing the party to gain seats in Congress, if not outright control.

Obama said House Republicans over the past 4 years voted 11 times to continue rewarding corporations that create jobs and profits overseas - a policy that costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

It doesn't make sense for American workers, American businesses, or America's economy, he said.

Most recently, an effort by the the Democratic leadership in the Senate to end the tax breaks failed as Republicans and some Democrats voted in opposition.