WASHINGTON (AP) – Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday endorsed President Joe Biden’s focus on building the country’s infrastructure, saying the company is even supporting an increase in the corporate tax rate to pay for it.
Bezos’ statement, posted on the company’s website, was notable because it came after Biden singled out the company for criticizing how much it pays in federal taxes when he recently unveiled its $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal.
Biden has proposed raising the U.S. corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% to help pay for his plan, an idea Republican leaders see as damaging to economic growth. Democrats will certainly cite support from individual companies to undermine that argument.
“We recognize that this investment requires concessions from all sides – both in the details of what’s included and how it’s paid (we support an increase in the corporate tax rate),” Bezos wrote. “We look forward to seeing Congress and the government come together to find the right, balanced solution that will maintain or improve the US competitiveness.”
Bezos made sure he didn’t endorse a specific plan. He said earlier, “We support the Biden administration’s focus on making bold investments in US infrastructure.”
The company would benefit from investments in roads, bridges, airports and broadband. Business groups have joined the federal government’s call for more investment in public works, but they have generally refrained from Biden’s call to increase corporate taxes, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce describing Biden’s proposal as “ dangerous misleading when it comes to paying for infrastructure. “
In addition to partially undoing the corporate tax cut introduced during President Donald Trump’s administration, Biden also wants to impose a minimum U.S. tax on foreign business income and make it more difficult for companies to shift their income overseas.
Amazon has long been criticized for paying virtually no federal taxes in the US for years, even as it built an e-commerce empire that currently has a market value of $ 1.6 trillion.
That has changed somewhat in recent years as the Seattle company has become more profitable. Last year, the company reported having paid $ 1.7 billion in federal taxes on its US income of $ 20.2 billion, representing an effective tax rate of about 8%.
AP Business Writer Michael Liedtke in San Ramon, California contributed to this report.
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