In other words, Google, the huge corporation, would rather that the app developer, who may not even be a corporation at all, be the merchant of record?
I guess I can kinda sorta see this from one point of view: they are trying not to be Apple. But they are still taking 30% of the money.
And while they give you the burden of being the merchant of record, they also give you capabilities Apple doesn't (e.g. carrier billing, control of refunds, ability to reply to reviews, etc.). It's a different bundle, with different trade-offs.
I guess I can kinda sorta see this from one point of view: they are trying not to be Apple. But they are still taking 30% of the money.