Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday expressed support for raising the corporate tax rate, but did not say he supports President Joe Biden’s plan for the increase.
“We support the Biden administration’s focus on making bold investments in US infrastructure,” Bezos said in a statement. “We recognize that this investment requires concessions from all sides – both in the details of what is included and how it is paid (we support an increase in the corporate tax rate).”
Last week, Biden unveiled a more than $ 2 trillion package that included major upgrades to the country’s bridges, roads, public transportation and airports, among other transportation infrastructure. It also included investments in caring for elderly and disabled Americans, building and renovating affordable housing, and promoting American manufacturing and training jobs.
To fund the package, Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. The corporate tax rate was lowered from 35% to 21% under President Donald Trump as part of a 2017 tax bill.
Bezos’ support for a tax hike is notable given that Amazon has previously faced criticism of its tax record, including from Biden. Last May, Biden, then a presidential candidate, told CNBC that Amazon “should start paying their taxes.”
Biden mentioned Amazon again last week in a speech in Pittsburgh, criticizing the company for using “several loopholes so they wouldn’t pay a single cent in federal income tax.”
In response, Amazon’s top spokesperson Jay Carney said, said in a tweet: “If the R&D tax credit is a ‘loophole’, it is certainly one of the benefits envisioned by Congress. 2015 made permanent in a law signed by the president. Obama. “
After paying $ 0 in U.S. federal income tax for two years, Amazon paid $ 162 million in federal income tax in 2019. The company, which benefits from a variety of tax credits and deductions, reported total sales of $ 386 billion last year.
– CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.