While the airwaves and headlines have been filled with talk of tax reform, few corporate executives and board members see it happening any time soon. Almost half—48 percent—of the 1,400 participants in a recent KPMG survey do not expect a change in corporate tax rates until 2013.

Even when it does come, the reductions would be fairly minor, respondents predicted. The top corporate rate, now at 35 percent, would only drop to between 32 and 34 percent, according to 29 percent of survey participants. Another 29 percent predicted a decline to between 30 and 31 percent.

These rate reductions are expected to come at a price. More than one-third of respondents said they expect the domestic manufacturing deduction, accelerated depreciation schedule, and the use of foreign tax credits to be reduced or eliminated. Fifteen percent were somewhat more optimistic, predicting that just the domestic manufacturing deduction and accelerated depreciation would be cut.

“As many of the survey respondents believe, it is our view that major tax reform will not happen quickly,” said Hank Gutman, KPMG tax principal, director of the Tax Governance Institute and former chief of staff of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. He also said that current issues are far more complex than those that impacted the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and include four significant variables: the government's fiscal state, the substantive reform proposals, the effects of those proposals on the economy, and the politics of enacting legislation.

Although tax reform could end up squeezing many companies' bottom lines, 63 percent of respondents said they don't plan to be actively involved in efforts to shape the outcome of the corporate tax debate. Of those who expect to be active, 11 percent will do it through a trade group, 10 percent will act on their own, and nine percent would combine their own efforts with that of a legislative consultant and trade association.

While many executives may prefer not to get involved in the issue, Gutman noted that any  changes to the tax code will create winners and losers. “This will occur because the use of preferences is not uniform across all businesses. Companies need to stay nimble and ensure they are in a position to respond to what develops.”