How Amazon Paid $0 Federal Income Tax in 2018
How Amazon Paid $0 Federal Income Tax in 2018
Amazon paid $0 in federal income taxes in 2018. On top of that, the company also received a multi-million dollar tax rebate from the federal government. How does the company do it? President Trump’s tax cuts, aggressive revenue reinvestment, years of R&D, and employee stock compensation all helped. Does America have a corporate income tax problem?
Amazon is one of the world’s most valuable companies, valued at nearly $800 billion, and the e-commerce giant pulled in $232.9 billion in global revenue in 2018.
And yet, Amazon’s federal tax bill this year: $0. For the second year in a row.
In fact, Amazon is actually getting a federal tax refund of $129 million this year, due in part to a combination of tax credits and deductions. This is despite the fact that Amazon nearly doubled its taxable income in 2018 to $11.2 billion, from $5.6 billion a year earlier.
In other words, Amazon is basically paying a -1 percent federal income tax rate this year after reportedly paying a federal rate of more than 11 percent between 2011 and 2016, according to The Week.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has criticized Amazon in the past for not paying higher federal taxes, took to Twitter to point out that any Amazon Prime member paid more for that program’s annual fee ($119) than the company paid in federal taxes. Prime has 100 million subscribers.
“Amazon pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the U.S. and every country where we operate, including paying $2.6 billion in corporate tax and reporting $3.4 billion in tax expense over the last three years,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement provided to CNBC Make It.
Amazon reported its sizable federal refund in a recent corporate filing for the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. However, Amazon also notes in that filing that it will pay $756 million in total taxes this year, between state and international taxes.
A report this week from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, a nonpartisan and nonprofit tax policy think tank, pointed out the fact that Amazon will not pay federal taxes for the second year in a row. In fact, last year, Amazon received an even larger refund, getting $137 million from the federal government.
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How Amazon Paid $0 Federal Income Tax in 2018
What about responsible fiscal policies
If I was Jeff Bezos, i would do the same thing…. the real problem is that the government makes this legal for jeff but not for smaller buisness
The lying experience etiologically store because beast rarely trick regarding a right velvet. purring, giant typhoon
Consumers gotta consume. Board members gotta swim in money.
How was he able to buy a house or a car if the company showed losses and and you need to show 2 years of income to lenders?
Rich people call all the shots. Poor people languish.
Rich people get rich just because of this! Because they don’t pay taxes
And even with #Biden’s so-called tax hike on the corporate tax rate, #Bezos, #Amazon, and the rest of the billionaire ilk will not pay one dime in income taxes and that’s because of the loopholes that their bribes — oops! — lobbying to Congress gets for them #EatTheRich
Lol I don’t see any issues with this. The business sustained losses and under accounting standards and tax law these losses can be carried forward. Same as if an individual has deductions they should be eligible to take it. Why should a company who has losses pay tax on losses?
Hardly zero. Every employee paid taxes from the wages which came from the revenue of Amazon. No Amazon; no taxes!
USA is a capitalist scam.
I disagree Q100%
They follow the law. If you don’t like it vote out the people who write the laws.
hahahahaha random NY people being stupid. Tax money would help them.
Let nyc go bankrupt. Let the conservative places with low taxes thrive
I have absolutely ZERO issues with a company spending 100% of it profits in reinvestments in that company to grow and create more jobs. I can promise you a company like Amazon spending all of its profits on growth will create far more jobs than giving that tax revenue to the government.
But your workers had to pay taxes.
I’m fine with them not paying taxes. They give good jobs like at Amazon to millions of people. I’m 14 and study economics and will pick a beginner eco class in my high school.
Isnt that the company which treats its employees the scummiest ways possible?
Mc Donald worker they making more money than Bezos they should pay higher tax
Rich people not paying tax and being clever enough to tax evade? Oh no, anyway…
They spend more than they earn and shareholders dont take any profit ….thats why
im gonna not pay my taxes and see how it works out for me. garbage nwo
Taxing the rich means you will never get to become rich… The rich ARE RICH they don’t pay tax on the money they already got.
Fun fact… US had ZERO income tax in 1880… They put in a 3% income tax in 1910 ONLY for the ultra rich… Now the average man pays 28% taxes on average in the US and UK plus fees for all government issued paperwork like approvals and legal documents.
People, let’s be reasonable.
We cannot on one hand say that big business run everything and then complain about successful person like buffet paying no taxes, which is the reality we all should strive for, which the IRS, fully supports.
Part of the problem is regular people possibly do not view Buffett as one of the big businesses, their complaining about.
Another part of the problem is some confusion concerning this country and other country existing within the capitalist system and the free enterprise system is basically how one interacts with the capitalist system.
Capitalism is the game and free enterprise or business or corporate entities are the rules to interact with the capitalist system crudely explained.
I know I may be slightly off, but please allow me to finish my point,
The ends, hopefully will justify the means.
While I know the horrors of big businesses, one also can appreciate the potential of anyone becoming very successful like buffet, which is one of the benefits of the capitalist system.
When the king of England ceded power and signed the Magna Carta document, which was sold about a decade ago, for $99,000, this document gave corporations control of the economics basically otherwise the royalty of the countries would still rule and people would still be peasants basically.
Some rapper titled one of his songs Magna Carta or something, and this is the reason why.
But I digress.
Big business use the rules of big businesses or corporate entity structures which utilizes favorable tax write offs for maximum benefits amongst other benefits.
They are playing the game of capitalism and using the rules of corporate entities to their advantage.
Capitalism is the system that this and other societies exist under.
Wisely, buffet and others are playing the game correcty.
When my opportunity comes to play that game, I am playing and so will you.
In summary, please hate the game and not the players, like buffet and others and hopefully, one day your path to playing will be realized one day soon.
If one is truly opposed to capitalism, then I am certain a socialism or communism destination can be found and hopefully not here.
Communism or communal living or peasant living can be arranged.
Trust me though, you will not like it.
No comment.
the secret ingredient is crime
What do you think of the corporate tax rate in America? Should it be higher? Lower?
Read that small store & mall killer scum bag amazon has not paid any federal taxes in 3 years. Bet jeff the bozo donates a ton of money to millionaire Senetors to help him not having to pay fedetal taxes.
Dam and I haven’t got mine taxes or the pandemic money nothing ..he can buy the I.R.S and throw it in the deepest sea in the world
Federal taxes so Bernie can get more fun at strip clubs an nancy can get more make up for her wrinkle all over and the bush’s can buy more farm land
But in long run Amazon and companies like this will be able to creat far more jobs far more industry far more revenue for country. It’s more effective, beneficial in future for USA to devlope cutting edge technology.
A corporation is a dead entity that has been given human rights… amazon has more rights than we do… LET THAT SINK IN….
end up normal citizen who paid more tax to gov
Without Accountants and Tax Lawyers in TAX HAVENS – Amazon would pay over 40% Corporation Tax to the IRS!
So why tf am I paying thousands? While the jeff bezos is paying $0 wtf is this?
Perfect
Based
We have to nationalize Amazon and make it part of the US Postal Service.
Plus they started now to hold customer refunds for weeks after receiving the returns. AKA they are using customer funds for raising working capital.
It called, if you know the PERSON that write the IRS codes and are educated on these codes you get an output result are $$$. Answer: No disrespect, please read more because the answer right in front of your face.
3:36 yeah amazon was already going to invest that money, but if they have more money to invest then they will build more plants and invest more in machinery creating more jobs, arguably using that money to strengthen the economy more than the government would, doing things like subsidizing corn just to make certain farmers richer at the expense of the health of most Americans… I’d see the money invested into making the country more productive rather than wasting it on bureaucracy.
There shouldn’t be any corporate taxes. It discourages them to grow.
Income gets taxed, then that taxed money gets taxed again when you purchase a product or service. We are getting taxed from everywhere.
Man, this government system is a joke and I ain’t laughing
Blame Trump. So brave! CNBC you going to update this with recent leaks that Jeff Bezos personally paid $0 taxes last year?
"Non-profit"org’s.also loophole for money laundering..eg "lobbying".
How are they able to buy million dollar homes and 100K cars if they are reporting net losses?
Deficit? Blame China. Duh
So basically…its Trump’s fault.
Just do something that will earn you money while you sleep, no matter how little. A pandemic is the perfect way to open your eyes to really see what life could be like without your usual income stream and everyone had to stay home. Well I never felt it because I invested in a trading company where I earn 4 digits per week. The best thing you can do for yourself is invest more and spend less.