[dijit]

What if they've done that already though.

What if the reason big companies avoid tax is that the shareholders ensure someone values fiscal results over supporting the country they earned the finance in is in the directors chair.

[pavlov]

Yes, that's exactly why American corporations do the things they do.

It's not a legal obligation though. Shareholders could choose to have corporations managed differently. That kind of "pro-tax" activist shareholders don't exist, but it's not inconceivable that large public funds (pensions etc.) could become such.

[Flenser]

Perhaps if governments started penalising corporate tax avoidance by confiscating a percentage of a company's shares the shareholders would be incentivised to make sure whoever is running the company will pay taxes fairly.

[an_account]

And how should the government define “tax avoidance”? With tax law? Oh wait, they already do it, and you get pentalized if you break it.

The problem isn’t Apple, the problem is the government can’t get its act together to pass tax reform.