David Rosenbloom Discusses Impact of Cutting Corporate Tax Rate

The Paradise Papers also reveal that Apple and Nike used tax havens to reduce their liabilities. Apple, for example, moved to Jersey after authorities pressured Ireland to close a loophole that had allowed Apple to pay far less than the 12.5 percent corporate tax rate. In 2014, the computer and electronics giant had paid only 0.005 percent.

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But the maneuver draws into question the assumption of GOP tax reformers, who claim that by slashing the US corporate tax rate from a nominal 35 percent to 20 percent, corporate money will come flooding back to the United States, creating new capital and jobs.

"I don't think that's going to happen," says H. David Rosenbloom, a former senior Treasury official and now international tax lawyer at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington. "I have seen countless companies go through hoops to reduce their Irish taxes below 12 percent."

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Excerpt taken from the article “Why Tax Havens Persist, and Where a Rethink Could Take Hold” by Laurent Belsie for The Christian Science Monitor.