US firms face tighter tax rules on Irish operations under plans expected to be included in President Obama’s next budget.

The White House is moving to limit was it sees as tax avoidance and evasion through profit shifting and other means, senior administration officials said last night, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal .

The proposals would affect US companies with overseas operations and foreign companies with US operations, the paper said. While it is understood there was no specific mention of companies based in Ireland, it is likely that any reform would affect US businesses here, which account for a third of the Irish corporate tax take.

However, with the budget requiring bipartisan support in Congress , it is unlikely that such a radical change will be passed this year.