WASHINGTON (AP) – Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos endorsed President Joe Biden’s focus on building the country’s infrastructure on Tuesday, saying the company even supports raising taxes in the company to help pay.
Bezos’ statement, which was posted on the company’s website, was notable because it came after Biden voiced criticism of the company over how much it paid federal taxes when it recently announced its $ 2.3 billion infrastructure proposal.
Biden suggested raising the U.S. corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% to help pay for his plan, an idea that Republican leaders are so damaging to economic growth. Democrats will certainly cite support from individual companies to undermine the argument.
“We realize that this investment will require concessions from all sides, both in terms of the details of what is included, as well as for the way it is paid (we support an increase in the corporate tax rate),” Bezos wrote. “We look forward to Congress and the Administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution that maintains or improves American competitiveness.”
Bezos was careful not to endorse a specific plan. He said earlier: “We support the Biden administration’s focus on sound investment in US infrastructure.”
The company will benefit from the investments made in roads, bridges, airports and broadband. Business groups took part in the call for more investment by the federal government for public works, but they generally looked at Biden’s call to increase income taxes, while the US Chamber of Commerce described Biden’s proposal as ‘dangerously misleading’ for to pay infrastructure. ”
Along with the partial cancellation of corporate tax cuts that took place during President Donald Trump’s administration, Biden also wants to set a minimum U.S. tax on foreign corporate income, making it harder for companies to shift their earnings abroad.
Amazon has long been criticized for paying virtually no federal taxes for years, even though it built an e-commerce empire that currently has a market value of $ 1.6 billion.
This has changed slightly over the past few years as the company in Seattle has become more profitable. Last year, he reported that they paid $ 1.7 billion in federal taxes on his $ 20.2 billion in U.S. revenue, which worked out at an effective tax rate of about 8%.
AP business writer Michael Liedtke in San Ramon, California, contributed to this report.
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