That actually is how we tax international income. The issue is that nation-level taxes are in the double-digit ranges (i.e., 35% or above), so crediting foreign

That actually is how we tax international income. The issue is that nation-level taxes are in the double-digit ranges (i.e., 35% or above), so crediting foreign income taxes against US income taxes still results in a 35% (base) rate. Indeed, ignored in all this discussion (ignorantly by the media, deliberately by the companies), is that intercorporate dividends from EU countries to/from NAFTA countries are tax-free (or mostly tax-free), in the sense that they are taxed only once at the corporate level, as income to the payor. If the recipient distributes the dividends onwards to its own shareholders, it is taxed as income to those shareholders at lowered rates. These companies aren't planning to use their worldwide earnings to hire. If they were, the tax rates wouldn't matter because they get dollar-for-dollar deductions for such expenses (except for executive compensation), and intercorporate dividends they received or which they pass on to corporate shareholders are tax-free (or mostly tax-free) because of the dividends received deduction.