Will our gov't ever realize?
There will *always* be a tax haven.
Just like in a competitive free market, some enterprising country will open its (tax) doors as others close theirs, inviting the Headquarters of those mega corporations to pack up and move like they've done in the past.
You cannot 'force' a multi-national corporation to pay taxes if you can't explain your own tax code in 5 pages or less. (More than that = guaranteed loopholes)
In US our IRS tax code is over 1,700 pages, and every politician promises to "fix it" by appending more pages. The official tax code literally contradicts itself in several places.
Warren Buffet illustrated this to Obama while he was making the same empty promises, stating publicly that he paid into a lower tax bracket than his secretary.
They demonstratedly do not understand things that these corporations designing advanced systems already do:
+ Complexity does not always = "Better"
+ "The simplest solution is usually the correct one" — Occam's Razor
+ The more moving parts you have, the more that can go wrong (i.e. = "loopholes")
+ KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid (or my personal fav, "Keep It Stupid Simple")
The only real solution is to become a tax haven yourself. Then all the companies who fled will say, "Hey, we can move back home!" pack up and come back to where they started.
Our attractive (international) tax code will then even attract businesses from other countries trying to grow internationally and escape the burdens of their local country's taxes.
Obviously, "revised tax code" does not mean "no taxes". There are only 2 things for certain in this life, after all.
What I'm saying: there's absolutely no reason our taxes have to remain as complex as they are. It's extremely wasteful. It is a problem, and there are many angles and solutions.
Personally I prefer a single flat sales tax (like Fair Tax), meaning no more Income Tax, illegal immigrants automatically pay their taxes when they shop, and even tourists pay tax when they shop here. (Sorry Tourists!!) Everybody would have more money in their paycheck, and prices of goods would remain the same. Hey, and we get to be a haven for business again, yar!!