"Last week it emerged that, despite £4.2bn of UK sales, [Amazon] paid only £2.4m in corporation tax in 2012. In the same year it received £2.5m in government gr

"Last week it emerged that, despite £4.2bn of UK sales, [Amazon] paid only £2.4m in corporation tax in 2012. In the same year it received £2.5m in government grants ... What elevates Amazon's activity is the fact that it applied for government grants. The elegance of that corporate choice is like the ambiguity of the Mona Lisa's smile, the ruthlessness of Mike Tyson's punch and the adaptability of the malaria virus combined. There is no point in criticising anyone or anything that can do that. They can only be admired or destroyed. The grants > tax paid thing is pretty amazing, it has to be said.