Zeno Swijtink
08-03-2011, 05:13 PM
Can anyone estimate how much tax Amazon is avoiding? - Zeno
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Economic Crisis, The Audit — August 3, 2011 06:38 PM
WSJ Fronts Amazon’s Tax Avoidance Strategy
Color-coded maps tell employees which states are safe, bad, and neutral (https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wsj_fronts_amazons_tax_avoidan.php)
By Ryan Chittum
It’s nice to see The Wall Street Journal take a page-one look at Amazon’s aggressive tax avoidance, something I’ve written about quite a bit here at The Audit. Its story establishes even more clearly that avoiding sales taxes is a core part of the company’s business and has been from the beginning.
The Journal reports that Amazon went to great lengths to avoid doing business in states in which it didn’t collect sales taxes—even when it was doing business in states in which it didn’t collect sales taxes:
For travel to California, some former employees recall being instructed by lawyers and managers to use special business cards. Rather than distributing typical “Amazon.com” cards, they used ones from “Amazon Digital Services,” a wholly owned subsidiary that sells digital content such as books and music. Representing a subsidiary, rather than core retail operations, would help prevent state authorities from going after Amazon, the people said.
“It’s a very unscrupulous practice,” said Ms. Yee of the California tax board. She said Amazon employees visiting the state on business should present themselves clearly. If they don’t, she added, “I think it’s a conscious attempt to evade California’s tax laws.”
The paper reports that Amazon used a color-coded map of the country to tell employees traveling which states were “safe,” “neutral”, and “bad”—sort of like a corporate version of the State Department’s travel warnings list.
cont. at
https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wsj_fronts_amazons_tax_avoidan.php
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Economic Crisis, The Audit — August 3, 2011 06:38 PM
WSJ Fronts Amazon’s Tax Avoidance Strategy
Color-coded maps tell employees which states are safe, bad, and neutral (https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wsj_fronts_amazons_tax_avoidan.php)
By Ryan Chittum
It’s nice to see The Wall Street Journal take a page-one look at Amazon’s aggressive tax avoidance, something I’ve written about quite a bit here at The Audit. Its story establishes even more clearly that avoiding sales taxes is a core part of the company’s business and has been from the beginning.
The Journal reports that Amazon went to great lengths to avoid doing business in states in which it didn’t collect sales taxes—even when it was doing business in states in which it didn’t collect sales taxes:
For travel to California, some former employees recall being instructed by lawyers and managers to use special business cards. Rather than distributing typical “Amazon.com” cards, they used ones from “Amazon Digital Services,” a wholly owned subsidiary that sells digital content such as books and music. Representing a subsidiary, rather than core retail operations, would help prevent state authorities from going after Amazon, the people said.
“It’s a very unscrupulous practice,” said Ms. Yee of the California tax board. She said Amazon employees visiting the state on business should present themselves clearly. If they don’t, she added, “I think it’s a conscious attempt to evade California’s tax laws.”
The paper reports that Amazon used a color-coded map of the country to tell employees traveling which states were “safe,” “neutral”, and “bad”—sort of like a corporate version of the State Department’s travel warnings list.
cont. at
https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wsj_fronts_amazons_tax_avoidan.php