Biden singles out Amazon for not paying federal taxes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday singled out Amazon.com Inc for failing to pay federal taxes during his speech in Pittsburgh, Pa., As he spoke about the increased tax burden on multinational companies and the increase in the corporate tax rate.

Biden’s infrastructure plan unveiled earlier today raises the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and changes the tax code to fill loopholes that allow companies to move their profits overseas, according to a 25-page backgrounder released by the White House.

Biden said Amazon was one of 91 Fortune 500 companies that “use various loopholes where they don’t pay a single dime in federal income tax,” unlike middle-class families who pay over 20%. tax rate.

“I don’t want to punish them, but that’s just plain wrong,” he said.

In response, an Amazon spokesperson highlighted the research and development tax credits tweet by Jay Carney, the company’s public policy and communications manager and former White House press secretary. under former President Barack Obama.

“If the research and development tax credit is a ‘loophole’, it is certainly one of the intentions of Congress. The R&D tax credit has been around since 1981, was extended 15 times with bipartisan support, and was made permanent in 2015 in a law signed by President Obama, ”Carney tweeted.

After paying $ 0 federal tax for two years, Amazon started paying federal income tax in 2019.

This isn’t the first time Biden has taken on Amazon. In June 2019, he named Amazon and said that no company making billions in profits should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers.