[nsebban]

Definitely. And it would also help "real" states if they started to play nice, by paying their taxes where they're due.

But I think the over-the-top tax optimisation is actually what will ultimately cause them to lose their power (aka boycott by users, huge financial penalties from "real" states, or break-into-pieces scenario a-la-Standard-Oil) someday.

[dageshi]

I'll tell you why such a breakup will probably never happen. Break those companies up and the individual services they offer will probably end up being worse than what the combined entity could offer. Couple that with large companies who effectively do the same thing in protected markets (China) who'll use the opportunity expand into the rest of the world and you'll end up in a situation where you neutered the companies you have some control over in order to open the playing field to companies you don't.