Amazon pays ZERO federal taxes!

[Bernie Sanders]

By LAURA STAMPLER Updated: February 15, 2019 6:20 PM ET | Originally published: February 14, 2019
Those wondering how many zeros Amazon, which is valued at nearly $800 billion, has to pay in federal taxes might be surprised to learn that its check to the IRS will read exactly $0.00.

According to a report published by the Institute on Taxation and Economic (ITEP) policy Wednesday, the e-tail/retail/tech/entertainment/everything giant won’t have to pay a cent in federal taxes for the second year in a row.

This tax-free break comes even though Amazon almost doubled its U.S. profits from $5.6 billion to $11.2 billion between 2017 and 2018.

To top it off, Amazon actually reported a $129 million 2018 federal income tax rebate—making its tax rate -1%.

Amazon’s low (to non-existent) tax rate has been chided by politicians ranging from Senator Bernie Sanders to President Donald Trump.

You know what Amazon paid in federal income taxes last year?

Zero. https://t.co/2bVwXQNATl

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 30, 2018

I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2018

But even though Trump previously blasted Amazon for its limited state taxes—a single presidential tweet caused the company’s shares to fall by 9%—ITEP notes that its non-existent federal tax payment is a result of the Trump Administration’s corporation-friendly tax cuts. The think tank writes that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act not only decreased corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, but it also didn’t close “a slew of tax loopholes that allow profitable companies to routinely avoid paying federal and state income taxes on almost half of their profits.”

According to The Week, Amazon ended up paying an 11.4% federal income tax rate between 2011 and 2016, which is a contrast to the -1% rate this year.

Amazon has a history of avoiding various sales taxes and made headlines last summer after successfully convincing Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to repeal a tax that would have helped the city’s homeless population.

Furthermore, New Yorkers made waves after learning about the significant tax cuts Amazon would receive if it built a headquarters in Long Island City.

Amazon won't build an HQ in New York City.

It would have been getting tax breaks in Long Island City that were meant for the poor. https://t.co/j5NvFSUMpT? pic.twitter.com/UrAYajvw36

— Bloomberg Graphics (@BBGVisualData) February 14, 2019

As a result of public and political contention, Amazon canceled its plans to expand to New York Thursday.

[mookiemcgee]

Thanks Trump Tax bill, looking out for the middle class like always.

[KoolBak]

So exactly WHAT is / are the tool(s) they are using to avoid paying tax on a profit? Specifically? Anyone?

[waauw]

So exactly WHAT is / are the tool(s) they are using to avoid paying tax on a profit? Specifically? Anyone?

[mookiemcgee]

So exactly WHAT is / are the tool(s) they are using to avoid paying tax on a profit? Specifically? Anyone?

http://fortune.com/2019/03/01/amazon-federal-corporate-income-tax/

It's the trump tax bill "working as intended".

[KoolBak]

Yup. Loss carryforwards, accelerated depreciation and employee stock compensation are real. I've used them all in tax returns.

Don't see the problem.

Has also resulted in an estimated additional billions in investment into the economy. That's bad too....

Tax returns are fun.

It'd prolly really piss people off to see a hard working single mother of 4 get a refund that's triple what she paid in taxes....tax rules exist for a reason.

[mookiemcgee]

Yup. Loss carryforwards, accelerated depreciation and employee stock compensation are real. I've used them all in tax returns.

Don't see the problem.

Has also resulted in an estimated additional billions in investment into the economy. That's bad too....

Tax returns are fun.

It'd prolly really piss people off to see a hard working single mother of 4 get a refund that's triple what she paid in taxes....tax rules exist for a reason.

I mean I agree with you. I don't see anything wrong with what Amazon is doing. I don't 100% agree with the structure of tax law but amazon is just doing what any business should. Know the rules of the game and act accordingly.

[warmonger1981]

under Obama 2012


Apple paid a top tax rate of just 9.8 percent in 2011, the report says. Google paid a rate of 11.9 percent, while Yahoo paid 11.6 percent and Microsoft paid 18.9 percent. Xerox paid 7.3 percent of its income in taxes, while Amazon paid only 3.5 percent, according to the report.

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_1429955


i cant believe Trump gave them the 3.5%. At least under Obama they paid a tiny sum.. now they pay nothing. They trying to be like Netflix with the taxes?

[KoolBak]

You're looking at it totally wrong. Any one year doesn't determine anything. He also didn't GIVE THEM something. It's tax law. It's incredibly complex. They are much heavier, for example, in capital assets then many of the others you mentioned. Their distribution centers are monsters. Capital assets are written off with depreciation. They choose a tax law (section 179) that allows a greater write off up front, thus dramatically reducing profit. The plus side is that 500 million dollar building they built in your town, employing all the contractors, buying all the crap and making a shit ton of jobs. But it lowered their taxes? Waaaaaaaa!! Cry a fucking river. It's legal. It gets them to invest in SHIT made in America. It gives your mom a job.

There's a ton of other tax law we can discuss but that's an excellent example....

[Bernie Sanders]

You're looking at it totally wrong. Any one year doesn't determine anything. He also didn't GIVE THEM something. It's tax law. It's incredibly complex. They are much heavier, for example, in capital assets then many of the others you mentioned. Their distribution centers are monsters. Capital assets are written off with depreciation. They choose a tax law (section 179) that allows a greater write off up front, thus dramatically reducing profit. The plus side is that 500 million dollar building they built in your town, employing all the contractors, buying all the crap and making a shit ton of jobs. But it lowered their taxes? Waaaaaaaa!! Cry a fucking river. It's legal. It gets them to invest in SHIT made in America. It gives your mom a job.

There's a ton of other tax law we can discuss but that's an excellent example....

You don't lower taxes during good economic times. You pay off the huge debt that is exploding now due to the reckless tax cuts that is enriching the top 1% of companies and individuals.

You lower taxes during extreme economic distress to help boost the economy.

The fukn Republicans are still repeating the often disproven policy of trickle down economics.

[waauw]

The problem is that governments, of all levels, are prepared to go too far to attract these jobs. Multinationals offer huge bundles of jobs all at once, which of course are beneficial, but also lead to more disproportionate positions in competition and power balance.

It's unfair to smaller businesses that governments are prepared to change legislations and offer special incentives just to benefit these corporations. It is the duty of governments to guard over market-competitivity, but current policies are counter-productive to anti-trust legislation. Only thinking about the jobs created and the very small tax revenues you might still acquire is short-term thinking with disastrous long-term consequences.

This whole situation underlines a deeper fault-line in the system, one where governments are willingly handing over power to multinationals by upholding an everybody-for-themselves-mentality. A hundred years ago governments were well able to regulate and tax businesses as much as their voters wished. Today, because of the emergence of new technologies, that isn't the case anymore. The power balance between governments/workers and multinationals has shifted. It is now easier than ever before to relocate assets and commerce. Large corporations have well adapted to the new paradigm, governments have not. The common people are left as prime victims of a system that is growing ever more corporatocratic.

[KoolBak]

Except that corporations aren't some self propagating evite creature as most of you seem to believe. It's a thing owned by humans. Guns aren't evil either. Or cars or spoons.

Make a case that complains about the humans and I for one will listen...sick of this baseless whining about the "haves" by the "havenots".

PS...my corporation hasn't paid federal taxes in 25 years. What do you think of that, corporation haters??

[Bernie Sanders]

Put the bottle down, lol

The comparisons you make sounds like you listen to Hannity, Limbaugh and watching Fox News.

[KoolBak]

Nope. Scooby Doo...Spongebob.....the good shit

[waauw]

Except that corporations aren't some self propagating evite creature as most of you seem to believe. It's a thing owned by humans. Guns aren't evil either. Or cars or spoons.

I'm sorry, but this doesn't counterargue any argument made.

Make a case that complains about the humans and I for one will listen...sick of this baseless whining about the "haves" by the "havenots".

PS...my corporation hasn't paid federal taxes in 25 years. What do you think of that, corporation haters??

There seem to be good reasons why the wealth disparity in the USA is so bad.

R/P 10%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%.(by the UN)
R/P 20%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%.(by the UN)
Gini: Gini index, a quantified representation of a nation's Lorenz curve. A Gini index of 0% expresses perfect equality, while index of 100% expresses maximal inequality.(by the world bank)

R/P 10%: China(21.6), Venezuela(18.8 ), USA(18.5), Russia(12.7), France(9.1), S-Korea(7.8 ), Germany(6.8 ), Japan(4.5)
R/P 20%: Venezuela(15.8 ), USA(9.4), China(9.2), Russia(6.6), Japan(5.4), S-Korea(5.3), France(5.2), Germany(5.1)
Gini: Venezuela(46.9), China(42.2), USA(41.5), Russia(37.7), France(32.3), Japan(32.1), S-Korea(31.6), Germany(31.4)

Even Russia, whom the west accuses of dictatorship/oligarchy, does a better job at it than the USA.

[Bernie Sanders]

Except that corporations aren't some self propagating evite creature as most of you seem to believe. It's a thing owned by humans. Guns aren't evil either. Or cars or spoons.

I'm sorry, but this doesn't counterargue any argument made.

Make a case that complains about the humans and I for one will listen...sick of this baseless whining about the "haves" by the "havenots".

PS...my corporation hasn't paid federal taxes in 25 years. What do you think of that, corporation haters??

There seem to be good reasons why the wealth disparity in the USA is so bad.

R/P 10%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%.(by the UN)
R/P 20%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%.(by the UN)
Gini: Gini index, a quantified representation of a nation's Lorenz curve. A Gini index of 0% expresses perfect equality, while index of 100% expresses maximal inequality.(by the world bank)

R/P 10%: China(21.6), Venezuela(18.8 ), USA(18.5), Russia(12.7), France(9.1), S-Korea(7.8 ), Germany(6.8 ), Japan(4.5)
R/P 20%: Venezuela(15.8 ), USA(9.4), China(9.2), Russia(6.6), Japan(5.4), S-Korea(5.3), France(5.2), Germany(5.1)
Gini: Venezuela(46.9), China(42.2), USA(41.5), Russia(37.7), France(32.3), Japan(32.1), S-Korea(31.6), Germany(31.4)

Even Russia, whom the west accuses of dictatorship/oligarchy, does a better job at it than the USA.

Sorry Waauw, but Republicans would not understand what you just showed them. Just like Trump, they would rather watch television than actually reading extensive research papers on specific subjects from independent agencies with no ties to any political organization.

[KoolBak]

Argument counterargument wasn't the goal haterade glad I can give you boys a chance to bond!