The Treasury is weighing a proposal to eliminate some, but not all, of the taxes on overseas profits of U.S.-based companies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing two people familiar with the deliberations.

Eliminating the taxes on some of the profits is a central element of the Obama administration's broader plans to overhaul the corporate tax code, the newspaper said.

Business have long complained that the U.S. system of taxing companies' overseas profits hits companies that have often already paid been taxed in the countries where the profits were earned.

The details of the plan, including what profits would be excluded from taxation, could not be learned, the newspaper said.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment to the Journal, saying no final decisions have been made.

Reuters could not immediately reach a spokesman at the Treasury.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman, Editing by Sandra Maler)

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