On April 7th, on Tuesday, US local time, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos) issued a statement announcing that it supports the infrastructure bill announced by the Joe Biden government and supports the improvement of corporate Tax rates to help cover these costs.

Bezos said in the statement: "We support the Biden administration's focus on bold investment in U.S. infrastructure. We recognize that this investment requires concessions from all parties, regardless of the details of the investment content. It is still the payment method (we support raising corporate tax rates). We look forward to Congress and the government working together to find the correct and balanced solution to maintain or improve the competitiveness of the United States."

Last week, Biden announced a package plan of more than 2 trillion US dollars, including the comprehensive upgrade of US bridges, roads, public transportation, and airports. In addition, the plan also includes investment in caring for the elderly and disabled in the United States, building and renovating affordable housing, advancing American manufacturing and employment training efforts, and other goals.

In order to raise funds for the implementation of the plan, Biden proposed to increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. As part of the 2017 tax law reform, former US President Donald Trump lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Bezos' support for raising corporate tax rates has caused concern because Amazon has previously been scrutinized for its tax records, and even Biden has expressed dissatisfaction. In May 2020, Biden, then a presidential candidate, said in an interview that Amazon "should start paying taxes."

In a speech in Pittsburgh last week, Biden criticized Amazon again by name, criticizing the company for "using various loopholes so that they do not have to pay a penny of federal income tax."

Amazon’s chief spokesperson, Jay Carney, responded to this on Twitter: “If the R&D tax credit is a loophole, then there must be something wrong with Congress. The R&D tax credit has existed since 1981. It was extended 15 times with the support of both parties and became a permanent policy in a law signed by President Obama in 2015."

After not paying any U.S. federal income tax for two consecutive years, Amazon paid $162 million in 2019. The company benefits from various tax credits and deductions, even though its total revenue last year was as high as US$386 billion. (Little)

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate