CFOs Say Cut Spending, Don't Raise Taxes to Reduce Deficit

Ok, so even the smartest calculators in the room say cutting spending, and not raising taxes to, is the way to go to pare back the U.S. federal deficit.

Grant Thornton recently released its national biannual survey of corporate chief financial officers and senior comptrollers.

About two-thirds of those surveyed, 64%, said "the best way to reduce the U.S. federal deficit is to reduce spending, while 35% say that there should be roughly equal measures of reduced spending and increased taxes," the accounting and consulting firm said in a statement.

Moreover, nearly half, 49% said the new health reform law "will increase the pricing of their goods, 40% said it will decrease their company’s growth and 37% said it will decrease their hiring," Grant Thornton added.

What's uppermost on the bean counters' minds when it comes to inflation pressures? The top three on their list "are employee benefits (75%), raw materials (47%, up from 27% six months earlier) and energy (45%, up from 21% six months earlier)," Grant says.

Grant Thornton LLP says it conducted the biannual national random online survey from March 22 through April 6, 2011, polling 318 U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers.