Corporate Taxes and the Companies That Don't Pay Them
May 4, 2021 20:27:10 GMT
goldenvalley likes this
Post by LFC on May 4, 2021 20:27:10 GMT
Amazon is a well known corporate tax dodger here in the U.S. It turns out it's the same in the EU.
Economic justice advocates expressed outrage and called for a crackdown on tax evasion on Tuesday after Amazon's latest filings in Luxembourg revealed that the online giant paid $0 in corporate taxes to European countries last year despite reporting record-high sales of nearly $53 billion amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Amazon's revenues have soared under the pandemic while our high streets struggle," said Margaret Hodge, a parliamentarian from the British Labour Party and long-time critic of tax dodging. "It seems that Amazon's relentless campaign of appalling tax avoidance continues."
The Guardian reported that accounts for Amazon EU Sarl, a Luxembourg-based entity that sells products to hundreds of millions of households throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, showed that the company's sales income rose from $38.5 billion in 2019 to $52.9 billion in 2020. And yet, even after a $14.4 billion increase in revenue, Amazon's so-called Luxembourg unit claimed $1.4 billion in losses and therefore paid $0 in corporate taxes.
As a matter of fact, the Luxembourg unit—which manages sales in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden—received $67.3 million in tax credits "it can use to offset any future tax bills should it turn a profit," The Guardian noted, adding that Amazon has $3.2 billion "worth of carried forward losses stored up, which can be used against any tax payable on future profits."
"These figures are mind-blowing, even for Amazon," said Paul Monaghan, chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation. "We are seeing exponentially accelerated market domination across the globe on the back of income that continues to be largely untaxed—allowing it to unfairly undercut local businesses that take a more responsible approach."
"The bulk of Amazon's U.K. income is booked offshore, in the enormously loss-making Luxembourg subsidiary, which means that not only are they not making a meaningful tax contribution now, but are unlikely to do so for years to come given the enormous carried forward losses they have now built up there," Monaghan added.
"Amazon's revenues have soared under the pandemic while our high streets struggle," said Margaret Hodge, a parliamentarian from the British Labour Party and long-time critic of tax dodging. "It seems that Amazon's relentless campaign of appalling tax avoidance continues."
The Guardian reported that accounts for Amazon EU Sarl, a Luxembourg-based entity that sells products to hundreds of millions of households throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, showed that the company's sales income rose from $38.5 billion in 2019 to $52.9 billion in 2020. And yet, even after a $14.4 billion increase in revenue, Amazon's so-called Luxembourg unit claimed $1.4 billion in losses and therefore paid $0 in corporate taxes.
As a matter of fact, the Luxembourg unit—which manages sales in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden—received $67.3 million in tax credits "it can use to offset any future tax bills should it turn a profit," The Guardian noted, adding that Amazon has $3.2 billion "worth of carried forward losses stored up, which can be used against any tax payable on future profits."
"These figures are mind-blowing, even for Amazon," said Paul Monaghan, chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation. "We are seeing exponentially accelerated market domination across the globe on the back of income that continues to be largely untaxed—allowing it to unfairly undercut local businesses that take a more responsible approach."
"The bulk of Amazon's U.K. income is booked offshore, in the enormously loss-making Luxembourg subsidiary, which means that not only are they not making a meaningful tax contribution now, but are unlikely to do so for years to come given the enormous carried forward losses they have now built up there," Monaghan added.