Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Surprisingly Supports a Corporate Tax Rate Increase
Author By Sophia VidaPosted on Many corporations may not be thrilled with the corporate tax rate hike that President Biden’s administration wants to implement, but Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is not against such an increase.
On Tuesday the CEO of the e-commerce giant voiced his support for raising the corporate tax rate. He did not however endorse or say he approves of Biden’s tax hike.
It was earlier this month that President Biden and his administration unveiled a $2 trillion intrastructure plan that he hopes to fund by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.
“We support the Biden Administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure,” Bezos stated. “We recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides — both on the specifics of what’s included as well as how it gets paid for (we’re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate).”
The president’s $2 trillion package would help to upgrade the nation’s bridges, roads, public transport and airports, among other transportation infrastructure. The plan also includes investments in care for elderly and disabled Americans, and solutions for affordable housing and advancing American manufacturing and job-training efforts.
Amazon has notoriously been judged over its tax record in the past. Biden told CNBC last May that Amazon “should start paying their taxes” and recently slammed the company for using “various loopholes so they’d pay not a single solitary penny in federal income tax.”
Amazon’s top spokesperson, Jay Carney tweeted,“If the R&D Tax Credit is a ‘loophole,’ it’s certainly one Congress strongly intended. The R&D Tax credit has existed since 1981, was extended 15 times with bi-partisan support and was made permanent in 2015 in a law signed by President Obama.”
Amazon had paid $0 in U.S. federal income tax for two years but then paid $162 million in federal income taxes in 2019.
Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.
