On the last page of a nine-page tax plan that calls for slashing business rates, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans proposed a little noticed, brand-new tax that may hit companies like Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

It's contained in one sentence: "To prevent companies from shifting profits to tax havens, the framework includes rules to protect the U.S. tax base by taxing at a reduced rate and on a global basis the foreign profits of U.S. multinational corporations." The rate and formula aren't specified, but that lone sentence carries multibillion-dollar implications for multinationals. Their lobbyists are noticing.

Proposing a new tax on U.S. companies' foreign profits "is appalling," said Ken Kies of Federal Policy Group, whose clients include General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp. "The whole point of this tax reform was to make U.S. corporations more competitive. It's going to do the opposite."