This is a great initiative that I've been following, but the stumbling block is still 'local taxes [and employment]' - that's still 27 different tax codes to deal with, submitting returns to in 27 different languages.

Even now with cross-border selling, there are 27 different VAT codes to follow when transacting within Europe. Sure, you can report and actually settle it to a single national authority (and then that national process separately).

Unless a country will actually defer parts of its company and tax law to Brussels, for companies present in that country - then I just don't really see what this brings over just starting a limited company in another state (even outside of the EU) - as you'll still have to follow national law in the country where you're resident anyway, which could be anything.

(e.g. I start an Estonian OU with E residency, I live in Finland. I am obliged under Finnish law to submit a return for that company in Finland too as a person of control. In Finnish, along with the Estonian return, in Estonian)

Agreed. If the CFC (controlled foreign corporation) rules still apply for founders in EU-member states, it will fail.

I’m hoping they can be creative and find a way to distribute revenues to member states in a way that works for everyone.

For employment taxes, one way could be to tax EU-inc employees as if self-employed in their personal tax domicile.