Bezos "Supports Corporate Tax Increase"... Aligning with Biden's Agenda?

▲Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, the world's largest e-commerce company, has expressed support for the Biden administration's corporate tax increase. This move by Bezos is considered unusual given that the Biden administration has been at odds with major U.S. IT companies, including Amazon, by signaling big tech regulations since the beginning of its term.

According to CNBC on the 6th (local time), Bezos stated in a press release, "I support the Biden administration's bold investment in America's infrastructure," adding, "We understand that this investment requires concessions in all aspects." He reiterated, "We support the increase in the corporate tax rate."

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, the Biden administration announced a stimulus package of more than $2.25 trillion for investments in U.S. roads, transportation, airports, and other transportation infrastructure. It also announced plans to raise the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 28% to fund this. Former President Donald Trump had significantly lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% in 2017 to 21%.

Major foreign media outlets, including CNBC, pointed out that Amazon's tax payments have been minimal and that the company had not supported corporate tax increases before, making Bezos's support for the tax hike unusual.

Amazon reportedly paid no federal income tax in 2017 and 2018, only paying $162 million in 2019. This amount is extremely low compared to Amazon's revenue of $386.1 billion (approximately 431.8 trillion KRW) last year.

Last week, President Biden criticized Amazon as one of the 91 Fortune 500 companies that exploit various loopholes to avoid paying any federal income tax. He also pointed out that companies like Amazon, which make billions in profits, should not pay lower tax rates than firefighters and teachers.

Meanwhile, Bezos announced that he will step down as Amazon CEO in the third quarter of this year and move to the position of chairman of the board.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.