The existing loophole-ridden land rules, dating from 2001, give developers wide leeway to clear property.
Instead, Mr. Obama has said he would be open to reducing overall corporate tax rates if existing loopholes could be closed.
Such a policy should close existing loopholes, including the so-called gun show loophole, which enables private sales of firearms without background checks.
"Countries shouldn't be looking at ways to legitimise existing loopholes in the IWC moratorium, but at closing them altogether," Willie MacKenzie, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said.
Most settle for a "standard deduction" because they cannot qualify for existing loopholes or hire lobbyists to write some for them.
But existing loopholes, like allowing the use of potentially high-risk parts from animals younger than 30 months, must be closed as well.
Given the number of existing loopholes and the ease with which people can buy firearms on the Internet, people printing guns might seem like adding a drop of water to an Olympic-size swimming pool.
It's pushing for tax cuts for its members: a lower rate, the continuation of existing loopholes and the creation of new ones, like a permanent credit for research and a tax holiday for overseas profits.
Mr. Obama would be open to a preference for dividend income as part of an overhaul of the tax code, the official said, "but absent that broader reform, he thinks we cannot afford to have a lower rate on top of all of the existing loopholes and tax benefits".
