Amazon, one of the most valuable and profitable companies on Earth, will pay $0 in federal corporate income taxes this year, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
The company nearly doubled its profits last year to $11.2 billion, up from $5.6 billion in 2017. It didn’t pay any federal income taxes on its 2017 income either.
In its filings, Amazon reported a federal tax rebate of $129 million, making its tax rate an astonishing -1 percent.
How is this possible? According to the ITEP, the tax filing indicates that much of Amazon’s windfall is thanks to tax credits and tax breaks on executive stock options. Some of it is also the result of the Trump tax cuts, which gave corporations even more leeway to avoid taxes. Things were slightly less absurd under Barack Obama—between 2011 and 2016, Amazon paid 11.4 percent of its federal income in taxes.
This isn’t the first time Amazon’s tax avoidance has been in the news. Last year, the company successfully lobbied Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to repeal a new tax that would have helped the city’s homeless community, a move so heartless it strains the imagination.
On Thursday, Amazon announced it would not go ahead with plans to build a new headquarter’s in New York’s Long Island City. The decision came about due to pushback from local activists and politicians.
Perhaps if enough people organize effectively, we could convince Amazon to actually pay its goddamn taxes. Or better yet, nationalize the company.