Amazon Backs Biden Tax Hike Plan After Years of Avoiding Federal Income Taxes

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, CEO of multinational corporation Amazon, is endorsing President Joe Biden’s plan to hike the corporate tax rate after years of avoiding federal income taxes.

This week, Biden released the details of his tax hike plan that includes raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.

In response, Bezos — who has boosted his wealth by more than 60 percent since March 2020 — said he supports the tax hike, though Amazon has a history of avoiding billions in federal income taxes.

“We support the Biden Administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure,” Bezos wrote in a statement:

Both Democrats and Republicans have supported infrastructure in the past, and it’s the right time to work together to make this happen. 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). We look forward to Congress and the Administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution that maintains or enhances U.S. competitiveness. [Emphasis added]

Last year, as hundreds of thousands of small businesses were forced to close, Amazon had a pre-tax income of $20 billion. If Amazon had paid the 21 percent tax rate, the corporation would have owed $4.1 billion in federal income taxes.

Instead, Amazon dodged that tax rate and paid only $1.8 billion in federal income taxes, thus avoiding $2.3 billion in taxes. The figures indicate that Amazon paid a 9.4 percent tax rate.

For 2017 and 2018, Amazon paid $0 in federal income taxes. Even when Amazon does pay federal income taxes, it is well below the 21 percent tax rate and the rates that millions of working and middle class Americans must pay.

For example, in 2019, Amazon paid $162 million in federal income taxes despite $13.9 billion in pre-tax income for the year. This is a tax rate of just 1.2 percent, far lower than the 21 percent rate on corporations.

In comparison, an American earning $50,000 a year pays at least 8.6 percent in federal income taxes. In many cases, Americans earning just $15,000 a year have a higher federal income tax rate than that of Amazon’s in 2019.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.