That seems to make sense. What's different about Palo Alto, CA that they're ok with money flowing directly there? Is it because dealerships have become unnecessary middlemen putting more $ on the cost before it reaches consumer hands?
[1] In fact, I imagine lots of state legislators hate Palo Alto for making middle class jobs in their states obsolete while creating a few high paying jobs in California and diverting the difference to shareholders in New York. We're talking about a state hollowed out by deindustrialization, where the promise of better jobs to replace the ones lost was made decades ago, and still has yet to materialize.
A large economy will have consumers spending millions on google ads and iTunes content, and none of it will end up in the tax coffers of the local country.
This is better off for everyone except for the politicians who want to throw money around.
The eventual result will be make-work schemes like the local dealer franchises. Expect enforced-local entities in some countries where an office is created and people do meaningless work so the tax revenues can be domiciled. In other words, the exact same model as the car dealerships.
It's bad but people hate being exposed to the market, because it systematically punishes laziness. Most people will vote for a politician to make it easier for them to be lazy, even if it ultimately makes them worse off.