Comments

4

Amazon HQ employees are now used to working from home full-time. If such a tax passes, look for them to move their HQ to Bellevue and close most of their buildings in Seattle.

5

I will never understand why people believe Amazon should not have to pay taxes. You really think they will go if they get taxed? Doubt it. And yet if they did go where would they go? To some shitty state that gave them a tax break where no one would want to live so they'd have a hell of a time getting people to go there and work for them. New York successfully got them to let go of their subsidy demands and they're still going there, even to Manhattan where they will pay more in rent (with no subsidies) than the Queens neighborhood they wanted to take over and destroy. It's like everyone in Seattle suffers from Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Amazon.

6

@5 Do you pay any taxes? I suspect not. I don't want to pay any more taxes. Amazon doesn't either, nor do their shareholders, and if moving 10 miles saves hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, they'll do it.

7

@5 Amazon pays state b&o taxes, property taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes on purchases etc etc just like everyone else in WA state Sugartits.

8

@7 No need for pejoratives when the truth is sufficient.

9

@6 Please. You suspect I don't. Why? Because I believe in taxing corporations? Because I believe in taxation? Again, another person on the internet who thinks they know things about a stranger. Your opinion has nothing to do with reality.

When I worked I paid taxes. My mother, retired, pays taxes (she is my caregiver, with whom I live). So yes, I live in a household where taxes are paid. My mother pays a percentage of her retirement income that is higher than taxes paid by Amazon. Her tax rate is 12%. Amazon's is 1.2%

Most people in this country work and pay taxes. Amazon makes BILLIONS IN PROFITS and exist in our society using all of the things that are paid for by taxes. Yet they enjoy a negative tax rate, receiving hundreds of billions in dollars from the government annually.

Everyone hurting due to this pandemic wants financial assistance. That comes from taxes paid. Everyone in daily life wants the fire department to show up, the police to show up, their utilities to work, transit to be on time, garbage to be collected, health care to be provided if they need it, the government to show up when there is a natural disaster, etc. etc. etc.
All of these things are provided by taxes. Everyone who exists in the society, especially those raking in billions, should have to pay a fair share of taxes. Why working people like you insist that corporations raking in billions should be exempt and will argue endlessly about it is a mystery to me. WA state has one of the most regressive, unfair taxation systems in place, yet you put yourself and Amazon in the same sentence like you are equals when it comes to "paying more taxes." What???

Pretending that huge corporations are NOT getting away with paying far less in their fair share of taxes is outright denial of reality, blatant stupidity, or blissful ignorance. I don't pretend to know you or what our particular problem is.

https://itep.org/from-0-to-1-2-amazon-lauds-its-minuscule-effective-federal-income-tax-rate/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/15/amazon-pays-no-2018-federal-income-tax-report-says/2886639002/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/04/amazon-had-to-pay-federal-income-taxes-for-the-first-time-since-2016.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=taxes+paid+by+amazon+by+year&ei=7dSLXumlCqy_0PEP6JWK4AQ&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwip0P_NktXoAhWsHzQIHeiKAkwQ8NMDegQIDhA-&biw=1536&bih=686

10

Profitable Giants Like Amazon Pay $0 in Corporate Taxes. Some Voters Are Sick of It.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/us/politics/democrats-taxes-2020.html

Companies like Amazon have turned the tax code into a corporate handout of massive proportions that has helped it pad its profits. To these critics, such tax-avoidance schemes do little to serve the interest of the American taxpayer, especially since they ultimately starve the government treasury.
https://www.insidesources.com/zero-taxes-on-billions-in-profits-amazon-defenders-say-dont-hate-the-player-hate-the-game/

11

@9 I would say if anyone's opinion has little to do with reality, it is yours. Just because you believe Amazon should pay more in taxes doesn't mean they're going to do so. They will do what they need to do to avoid more taxes, like any rational entity. Any belief otherwise is naive and juvenile. Seattle stands to lose far more if Amazon leaves than whatever they would receive in new taxes.

Amazon doesn't care about you. They only care about your money.

12

@11 and your response is a non-response about Amazon not paying taxes. You said: I don't want to pay any more taxes. Amazon doesn't either, nor do their shareholders, and if moving 10 miles saves hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, they'll do it.

They DON'T pay taxes. Why defend them? My individual, personal opinion is irrelevant, I agree. The millions of people in this country who believe Amazon (and all other corporations like them) should pay taxes, are all of their opinions irrelevant, too? Just you and and everyone who believe Amazon should not have to pay taxes have reality based opinions? Why do you believe your opinion holds more weight than mine? (spoiler alert: it doesn't).

It is not naive or juvenile to believe in fair taxation. Plenty of places do it and they have thriving societies. Acting like that is not the truth because it does not support your world view is naive and juvenile. Opinions aside - facts matter. Reality matters. Truth matters.

Amazon does not care about you either. And they don't care about your money or mine, they only care about their money. They don't get a dime of my or my family's money and haven't for 15 years.

13

I'm not defending Amazon, I don't even like them (except for the Kindle, it's amazing). But, just because you and your friends believe Amazon should pay more taxes makes no difference. They will not. Plan accordingly.

14

Tax Pagliacci!! (They’re subject to this tax proposal too)

17

@16 Okay Mitt Romney. Perpetuate the lie. Ignore the truth.

First, these numbers refer only to federal income taxes. Both the federal and the income part are important.

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/13/tax-day-taxes-statistics/

18

If only Mitt had won we wouldn't be in this mess. He'd be handling the COVID-19 crisis masterfully at the end of his second term.

22

@9- if your mother is your caregiver, you live with her and she is an individual provider that gets paid through the state for her services then she is covered under the difficulty of care act (IRS 2014-7). She doesn't have to pay federal taxes on what I'm sure is a miserable job, considering she's your caregiver. Oh, and fuck Morales and sawant.

23

@19- it's all she has.

24

@22 why do you believe you know me or my mother? my mother has PRIVATE pension from a company she worked for for 26 years and after they froze the pension she started a 401k. All of that income was earned through work. And yes, all of that income is taxable. She pays federal and state taxes on both, every year, and has done so since she retired. Are you deranged? Why do you insist on fighting so hard to defend billionaire carpetbaggers who don't 'give a shit about you? Why do you insist on pretending you know strangers on the internet? Your comments say quite about you and reflect nothing about me but your projected fantasy.

25

Amazon Tries to Change the Subject by Listing Taxes It Does Not Really Pay

https://itep.org/from-0-to-1-2-amazon-lauds-its-minuscule-effective-federal-income-tax-rate/

Amazon also wants us to know that the company paid $2.4 billion in payroll taxes and customs duties. But economists agree that payroll taxes are ultimately paid by employees in the form of reduced compensation. Like the sales tax, the payroll tax is one that the company really just collects and sends to the government, as required by law.

Congratulating an employer for collecting the payroll tax is like congratulating yourself for breathing.

If we focus on the taxes the company paid in 2019, we see an effective federal income tax rate of just 1.2 percent. And since the company enjoyed federal income tax rebates in 2017 and 2018, this means that over the last three years Amazon has paid zero on $29 billion of U.S. pretax income.

27

Yes separate Amazon Federal taxes vs. Local taxes. Amazon property taxes paid EVERY year are approx. $6.70 per sf of office. They have over 10 million square feet in Seattle. Plus B & O, and all the taxes the folks that work there pay.
Ask Sawant what they have done with all the additional tax revenue they have squandered in the last 6 years. City revenue 2014, adjusted for inflation, about $4.8 billion. 2020 City Revenue $6.4 Billion, a 32% increase. Population increase same time period = 12%. So $4.8 Billion + 12% = $5.4 Billion is what the City budget should be based on population growth. Where did the extra BILLION dollars go??? Answer - City has no meaningful cost controls in place. Why institute cost control when you can demonize your main employer and cover up the Cities managerial ineptitude?

29

As for Amazon's federal taxes it's pretty simple. Amazon can hold money as profit and pay corporate income taxes or they can invest the money on research and development. For Amazon, R&D means hiring more people. And then Amazon pays payroll tax and the people pay payroll tax and income tax. Either way the money flows into the federal treasury.

31

@24- reading is fundamental. I'll type this slowly so you can follow along. IF your mother is your caregiver and IF you live together and IF she gets paid for said caregiving through DSHS, the INCOME EARNED THROUGH DSHS is tax free under the Difficulty of Care Act. Lot of ifs there. IF she's dumb enough to take care of your miserable ass for free, then that's on her.

34

@31 I am 48 years old. DHS is NOT INVOLVED. You ARE TOTALLY OUT OF YOU FUCKING MIND BELIEVING YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT STRANGERS ON THE INTERNET. FFS GET A GRIP ON REALITY. LAY DOWN ON THE FLOOR AND HOLD ON TIGHT. JFC YOU ARE BAT SHIT INSANE.

You simultaneously believe I am a child and post comments here on this forum and that my mother (70, retired, happy, loves me more than anything in the entire world) is miserable because she is my caregiver? Please do us all a favor and figure out how to discern reality from the huge hell scape of insanity that is in your skull. K Thanks Bye. WOW.

35

@32, they do not pay taxes. It is clearly laid out that they do not pay taxes. When they are getting hundreds of billions of dollars back from the government and have zero tax liability, THEY ARE IN EFFECT, PAYING NO TAXES.

@33 Amazon uses all kinds of public utilities and space, just like everyone else, so they should have to pay THEIR FAIR SHARE given the amount they use and the profits they rake in. Why on earth are so many people so invested in Amazon not paying taxes? None of you will ever be Jeff Bezos, not even remotely. Why, given all evidence to the contrary, do people believe it is fine or Amazon to rake in hundreds of billions of dollars and not pay their fare share to the government? The people who work for Amazon sure as shit have to pay taxes.

I return to my first statement. Everyone in Seattle has fucking Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Amazon. The best thing that could happen is WA wake up and institute an income tax and if that drives Amazon out to West Virginia, so be it.

37

@34- calm down. There are adults with caregivers that are paid through DSHS. It's got nothing to do with age. You said your mother was your caregiver, and I assumed she was an IP (individual provider). Again, I bet it's miserable living with someone as unhinged as you.

38

@37 that's the thing, everything about me, you IMAGINE. none of it is reality based or remotely true. you viciously personally attack me and make up shit and i' unhinged. okay dan.


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