May 5--President Obama detailed a plan Monday to recover billions in revenues by closing overseas tax loopholes used by corporations, drawing both praise and scorn.

"It's a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York," Obama said in a midday address to explain the need for his proposal.

Obama said the "common sense" changes would raise an estimated $210 billion in tax revenues over 10 years. The proposal drew a lukewarm response from Congress, which must approve many of the changes.

Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the plan needs further study, even though similar measures have been proposed since the Kennedy administration.

Experts outside Washington praised the plan for roping in tax evaders, while others criticized it for aiding foreign competitors.

The government would go after offshore tax shelters and foreign bank accounts used by corporations and individuals to drastically lower their tax liabilities in the United States.

"There are people out there who sequester money overseas and have been doing it for years, and they shouldn't be allowed to do that," said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer of Fort Pitt Capital Group in Green Tree. "And now those people are nervous."

"Closing loopholes is usually a good idea," said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer for S&T Wealth Management Group in Indiana, Pa. "It seems logical that (Obama) would go after the wealthy by going after overseas tax havens and sheltering of (money) in foreign banks."

More than $86 billion of the $210 billion in recovered taxes would come from curtailing tax-avoidance maneuvers, especially involving corporations that locate foreign subsidiaries and their profits in low-tax countries.

Obama said one address in the Cayman Islands "must be the world's biggest building" because it is claimed as home to 12,000 businesses.

"We are beginning to crack down on companies that are bending or breaking the rules," Obama said.

Some corporations, however, answered immediately and forcefully.

"The proposed tax code is not only bad for business but is a job buster for the United States," said Christina Reitano, spokeswoman for Kennametal Inc., a machine tooling manufacturer based in Unity, Westmoreland County, whose products are used worldwide.

"Just over 50 percent of our sales come from outside North America, so this plan would have a substantial impact," said Reitano.