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This is a company that pays almost no Federal taxes, whose employees are forced to seek aid from the Federal govt. The least they could do is offer paid sick le
by DrWumbo 6y ago
This is a company that pays almost no Federal taxes, whose employees are forced to seek aid from the Federal govt. The least they could do is offer paid sick leave for those affected. Hardcore capitalism is doing as much harm to the US during this crisis as the virus itself.
- barry-cotter 6y ago> This is a company that pays almost no Federal taxes Indeed, if you reinvest almost all your profits in the business instead of taking them as earnings you pay very little in taxes. Taxing investment would be a very stupid thing to do since it would discourage what makes society richer in the long run.
- matt_the_bass 6y agoIf the issue was that simple ans black&white then bezos would not have his fortune. Amazon has gamed the system.
- barry-cotter 6y agoPlease explain how Amazon has gamed the system, or how Bezos being rich is incompatible with Amazon paying little in tax because it reinvests almost all profits.
- veggieburglar 6y agoAmazon was one of the original “disrupters”, taking out regular retail by not charging sales tax for the first decade of its existence. One might argue this gave them an unfair advantage over conventional retail, allowing them to gain a foothold faster than they might have otherwise. Anecdotally, I absolutely and conscientiously used Amazon as a way to avoid paying sales tax when I was younger and less financially stable.
- gimmeThaBeet 6y agoI would argue the income tax issue is that simple. The bet Amazon made was that profits didn't define the valuation of the business. The part that wasn't black & white was that folks were split on whether he was a genius or a scam artist running a book retailer with a 400+ p/e ratio. Gaming the system is what I'd call their sales tax treatment. They didn't collect it everywhere until they got so large that they're warehouses and datacenters were everywhere. And depending on jurisdiction I think its the 3rd party sellers' responsibility where possible.
- derision 6y agoDo you think Bezos did not pay taxes on his earnings? His "fortune" is majority equity in Amazon, not cash sitting in a bank account. Any income he received was taxed
- lonelappde 6y agoHe paid a very small rate of long capital gains for everything he didn't funnel through a tax shelter.
- throwawaysea 6y agoNo federal taxes is false. Amazon pays lots of federal taxes. In some years, they’re paid almost no federal income taxes in the US. One specific kind of tax in one jurisdiction. Our system is set up to incentivize companies and innovation with various mechanisms that change how taxable income is recognized. Not only are Amazon’s taxes legal, but also they are desirable for society at large. The alternative is that there wouldn’t be an Amazon or many other companies.