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The fundamental problem is that capital is permitted to cross borders, but people are not. Not in the same way. So, corporations can vote with their feet, but

• rayiner 8y ago
  The U.S. and the Schengen Area each comprise regions of 300-400 million people where people are free to move internally. You would think that would create a similar pressure to reduce internal income taxes to attract residents, but it does not. People, unlike corporations, have roots in places and by and large don't want to move to chase lower tax rates.
  • perfmode 8y ago
    Corporations don’t have to physically move when they move. They just file paperwork elsewhere.
    • rayiner 8y ago
      That's not really true. You can't just decide to be an Irish company if you have no presence in Ireland. The wave of corporate inversions in the U.S. was accompanied by lots of companies moving their headquarters (and their top executives) to Switzerland, the U.K., etc.
      • perfmode 8y ago
        Tim Cook doesn't need to live in Ireland to benefit from its tax code.
        • rayiner 8y ago
          Income from capital gains is taxed at the rate of where the person lives. Tim Cook is a great example: it was reported that one of his recent bonuses was taxed at 50%. Not that many people, even ones who make a lot of money, can take advantage of various tax avoidance measures. (That’s why e.g. getting rid of the preferential treatment of capital gains would raise less tax money than getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction.) CEOs mostly cannot, unless they run investment companies.
          • perfmode 8y ago
            My point is that Apple can take advantage of Ireland for tax purposes but Tim Cook doesn’t need to live in Ireland. The corporation enjoys benefits not conferred to people. This is why there is consternation and conflict around Apple’s repatriation of capital.