Date: February 15, 2019
Contact: mediacenter@freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org

In Case You Missed It!
Amazon Paid No Federal Income Taxes In 2018

“For those who don’t have a pocket calculator handy, that works out to a tax rate of negative 1 percent.” 

Amazon has avoided paying federal taxes and obtained lucrative tax packages for HQ2.

“Amazon is no stranger to tax controversies. Last year the company, in a staggering act of hubris, engaged in a year-long aggressive push for huge new relocation subsidies for its “HQ2” headquarters. A year later, Amazon appears to have won its two-front battle against fair taxes by continuing to altogether avoid federal taxes and obtaining lucrative packages of local tax breaks for not one but two new HQ2 locations, in New York and Virginia as well breaks for an operations center in Nashville, Tenn.” (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “Amazon in Its Prime: Double Profits, Pays $0 in Federal Income Taxes,” 2.13.2019)

Both President Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders agree: This is outrageous.

“This tax-free break comes even though Amazon almost doubled its U.S. profits from $5.6 billion to $11.2 billion between 2017 and 2018. To top it off, Amazon actually reported a $129 million 2018 federal income tax rebate—making its tax rate -1%. Amazon’s low (to non-existent) tax rate has been chided by politicians ranging from Senator Bernie Sanders to President Donald Trump.” (Laura Stampler, “Amazon Will Pay a Whopping $0 in Federal Taxes in $11.2 Billion Profits,” Fortune, 2.14.2019)

For the second year in a row, Amazon will pay no federal income taxes.

“Amazon will not pay any federal income taxes for the second year in a row, according to a report released Wednesday. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that the online retailer, which reported $11.2 billion in profits in 2018, did not pay income tax because of unnamed “tax credits” in their disclosure.” (Chris Mills Rodrigo, “Amazon to pay $0 in federal income taxes: report,” The Hill 2.14.2019)

Despite doubling their profits, Amazon won’t pay their fair share in federal income taxes.

“Amazon almost doubled its profits from $5.6 billion in 2017 to $11.2 billion in 2018, but the company isn’t expected to pay a cent in federal taxes this year, according to a new report.” (Antonia, Blumberg, “Amazon To Pay $0 In Federal Taxes In 2019: Report,” The Huffington Post, 2.14.2019)

Valued at $795 billion and with $11.2 billion in profits, Amazon will not pay the statutory 21 percent federal income tax rate.

“The world’s largest online retailer, which is worth $795 billion, earned a record $11.2 billion in U.S. profits, according to the company’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing earlier this month, yet did not pay the 21 percent U.S. corporate tax, thanks to leveraging unspecified tax credits and stock-based compensation deductions.” (Megan Henney, “Amazon paid no federal taxes for the second year in a row,” Fox Business, 2.14.2019)

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