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 declined to say he supported President Joe Biden’s plan for the increase.
“We support the Biden Administration’s approach to making bold investments in U.S. infrastructure,” Bezos said in a statement. “We recognize that this investment will require concessions from all parties, both on the specific characteristics of what is included and on how it is paid (we support a corporate tax rate hike).”
Last week, Biden unveiled a more than $ 2 trillion package that describes deep upgrades to the nation’s bridges, roads, public transportation and airports, among other transportation infrastructure. It also included investments in care for elderly and disabled Americans, the construction and adaptation of affordable housing, and the advancement of U.S. manufacturing and job training, among other goals.
To finance the package, Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 28% to 21%. As part of a 2017 tax law, the corporate tax rate under President Donald Trump had been reduced to 21%, from 35%.
Bezos ’support for a tax increase is notable, as Amazon had already been examined for its tax history, including that of Biden. Last May, then-presidential candidate Biden told CNBC that Amazon “should start paying its taxes.”
Biden pointed to Amazon again last week during a speech in Pittsburgh, and lashed out at the company for using “several loopholes so they wouldn’t pay a single penny on federal income tax.”
In response, Amazon’s top spokesman, Jay Carney, he said in a tweet: “If the tax credit for R&D is a ‘gap’, it is certainly one of the goals of Congress. The tax credit for R&D has existed since 1981, was expanded 15 times with bipartisan support and was make it permanent in 2015 in a law signed by President Obama. “
After paying $ 0 for U.S. federal income taxes for two years, Amazon paid $ 162 million in federal income taxes in 2019. The company, which benefits from various tax credits and deductions, reported total revenue last year of $ 386 billion.
– CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.