Tax evasion? Amazon earned $10.1 billion, but paid less than $300 million in taxes

At the beginning of 2020, my brother-in-law was questioned again.

According to foreign media reports, Amazon made $ 10.1 billion in profits in 2018, but paid less than $ 300 million in taxes.

Amazon paid $ 297 million in business, sales, property and local use taxes, as well as unemployment insurance, in 2018 , according to a person familiar with the matter. In 2017, the figure was $250 million.

The above two data also confirm the rumors that the Seattle City Council will increase taxes on Amazon. In 2018, there were reports that Amazon and the Seattle City Council were in a game of "head tax". At present, Seattle City Council member Keshama Sawant said that he would launch the so-called "Amazon 2020 Tax" campaign at his swearing-in ceremony.

It is reported that the news comes at a time when Amazon's hometown of Washington is debating with other states over how much tax technology companies should pay, and it is unclear what impact it will have.

It is understood that in October last year, there was news that the British tax authorities were investigating VAT evasion by Amazon, eBay and platform sellers, with the amount reaching 585 million pounds. The authorities have now sent VAT bills to overseas sellers targeting British customers.

Recently, Amazon has also begun to collect value-added tax (VAT) from Switzerland, Norway, and Armenia for remote services. Although there have been reports of tax evasion by cross-border e-commerce platforms, as countries tighten tax laws, this problem will be well resolved in the future.

In June 2019, former U.S. Vice President Biden said Amazon paid too little tax during a debate on corporate taxes. Biden was very dissatisfied with Amazon's payment of $ 0 in federal taxes in 2018. He said that any company with billions of profits should not pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers.

Amazon responded:

The latest data available shows that Amazon paid no federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018 .

Regarding the issue of Amazon's tax payment, I believe many people will find it strange. As such a world-renowned technology company and a leader in world e-commerce, why do they still engage in tax evasion?

The editor thinks that for technology companies like Amazon, they may not be involved in tax evasion, but they do engage in reasonable tax avoidance.

According to CNN's analysis, Amazon should take advantage of the "loss carryback" rule in the US tax law . Companies can use losses incurred in the current year to offset the taxable income of the next year and realize income tax benefits. For example, the carryback period in China, Germany and Japan is usually 5 years, while in the United States it is 15 years and in the United Kingdom it is unlimited.

Amazon has cleverly used this rule, losing at least billions of dollars in the past 20 years. In addition, Amazon has relied on its reputation and "scale effect" to seek more tax benefits across the United States.