Amazon Reveals New Details About Its Federal Tax Bill in Shot Across the Bow at Critics
Published on January 31, 2020 at 11:35PM
Amazon disclosed new details about its U.S. taxes for 2019 in public financial documents and a blog post Friday morning, saying its federal income tax expense for the year was more than $1 billion, in addition to more than $2 billion in other types of federal taxes. From a report: The disclosures appear designed to push back against assertions from politicians and researchers that Amazon does not pay any federal income tax. However, the federal income tax is still a small fraction of the company's profits, representing about 6 percent of the $14.5 billion in operating income that Amazon reported Thursday in its year-end financial report. "Like most governments that try to encourage economic investment by companies, the U.S. Congress has written a tax code that incentivizes the type of job creation, capital investment, development of technology, and employee ownership that Amazon does because these are critical drivers of a prosperous economy," the company says in its post. "We follow all applicable federal and state tax laws, and our U.S. taxes are a reflection of our continued investments, compensation of our employees, and the current tax rules." Federal tax laws also allow the company to delay payment of the bill. According to regulatory filings, Amazon will pay $162 million in federal income taxes for 2019 now, and an additional $900 million over time due to deferrals for which the company is eligible. That adds up to the $1 billion federal income tax expense Amazon says it's on the hook for in 2019. Amazon will pay an additional $2.4 billion in other federal taxes, like payroll and custom duties, the company said, and $1.6 billion to state and local governments for the year. In addition, Amazon paid $9 billion in sales and duty taxes last year, the company said.
Published on January 31, 2020 at 11:35PM
Amazon disclosed new details about its U.S. taxes for 2019 in public financial documents and a blog post Friday morning, saying its federal income tax expense for the year was more than $1 billion, in addition to more than $2 billion in other types of federal taxes. From a report: The disclosures appear designed to push back against assertions from politicians and researchers that Amazon does not pay any federal income tax. However, the federal income tax is still a small fraction of the company's profits, representing about 6 percent of the $14.5 billion in operating income that Amazon reported Thursday in its year-end financial report. "Like most governments that try to encourage economic investment by companies, the U.S. Congress has written a tax code that incentivizes the type of job creation, capital investment, development of technology, and employee ownership that Amazon does because these are critical drivers of a prosperous economy," the company says in its post. "We follow all applicable federal and state tax laws, and our U.S. taxes are a reflection of our continued investments, compensation of our employees, and the current tax rules." Federal tax laws also allow the company to delay payment of the bill. According to regulatory filings, Amazon will pay $162 million in federal income taxes for 2019 now, and an additional $900 million over time due to deferrals for which the company is eligible. That adds up to the $1 billion federal income tax expense Amazon says it's on the hook for in 2019. Amazon will pay an additional $2.4 billion in other federal taxes, like payroll and custom duties, the company said, and $1.6 billion to state and local governments for the year. In addition, Amazon paid $9 billion in sales and duty taxes last year, the company said.
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