However, in the modern world, corporations don't just use low taxes to simply route massive amounts of capital through low-tax countries without a net benefit for anyone — they are actually exploiting tax loopholes in different countries' tax laws against each other.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Sandwich
If Google actually used your machine to port scan and automatically exploit other computers, would you be enraged?
Well, that's exactly what their black hat tax lawyers were doing on the financial side:
If the beneficiaries are bribed individuals in various governments, that would be another thing entirely.
Lower corporate taxes have not resulted in "talent" moving to those countries. It's all legal maneuvering. This is tax evasion 101 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laundromat_(film)).
They're just shifting money, not talent. Money which is then taxed at a very low rate (Apple International had an effective corporate tax rate of 1% in 2003, which was shrunk down to 0.005% by 2014) and in return doesn't really benefit the people of that country.
I don't have an issue with a bank being based in the Bermudas or anywhere, for example; but in that case the HQ should really be based there. There is the same issue with ships registered using flags of convenience. Again, I don't have a problem with that per se. But if there is dispute involving your ship, you go ask Liberia to sort it out. You get your insurance from Liberia too; you get the picture.
Now, being French I'm also well-aware that French politicians are completely unrealistic and want to tax French companies doing business abroad in France, and American companies doing business in France, in France (notice the pattern?) There is a middle ground.
A bit of competition is always sobering.
