{"id":5208,"date":"2022-02-07T09:28:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T09:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/?post_type=news&p=5208"},"modified":"2022-02-09T13:48:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T13:48:36","slug":"amazon-tax-report","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/uniglobalunion.org\/news\/amazon-tax-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon extracted at least $4.7 billion in subsidies, new report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazon, the $1.<\/span>4<\/span>\u00a0trillion tech juggernaut and notorious tax-<\/span>dodger,<\/span>\u00a0is not only vying for<\/span>\u00a0more consumers\u2019 dollars, it also aggressively seeks taxpayers\u2019 money. According to a new report by UNI Global Union and Good Jobs First, Amazon has systematically secured economic development subsidies that now total at least $4.7 billion globally<\/span>\u00a0over the past decade<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The report is online here<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From Buenos Aires to Hyderabad, the available evidence\u00a0<\/span>pulled from\u00a0<\/span>public records, investor reports and company statements\u00a0<\/span>suggests Amazon<\/span>\u00a0h<\/span>as an insatiable appetite for public subsidies<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0The tax breaks received for opening data centres, warehouses or office complexes that help Amazon gain<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>\u00a0market-share advantage are likely much larger. According to the authors of the report \u201cdue to poor disclosure practices in most countries, the costs of such deals are hidden: the total is undoubtedly significantly higher.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201c<\/span>Amazon\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>one of the richest and fastest growing companies in the world.\u00a0<\/span>It racked up\u00a0$44 billion in European sales in 2020 but\u00a0paid no corporate taxes\u2014all while\u00a0<\/span>snooping\u00a0<\/span>on workers and dragging\u00a0<\/span>down labour conditions,” said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union. \u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt\u00a0shouldn\u2019t receive a penny from taxpayers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAmazon\u2019s rapid delivery business model means it need to locate warehouses in communities everywhere, near major transport routes, airports, and other business basics. There\u2019s no reason for national, regional, state or local governments to help offset Amazon\u2019s costs for operations that are core to its strategy,\u201d said Kenneth Thomas, a research fellow at Good Jobs First and expert in European and Canadian incentive systems compared to that of the United States. \u201cThey should stop providing subsidies to Amazon, and instead use the money to invest in small businesses and public services.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The report concludes that countries and their subnational governments should disclose the names of the entities that have been awarded subsidies but ultimately recommends that governments stay out of subsidizing Amazon, one of the largest companies in the world: \u201cState aid is intended to help companies grow their operations in areas they otherwise wouldn\u2019t, and help disinvested communities receive an economic jolt. Amazon\u2019s operations do neither; indeed, in providing Amazon subsidies, governments are aiding and abetting a multinational corporation that underpays workers, drives down wages, contributes to the demise of small businesses and engages in anti-competitive behaviours.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In recent years, criticism of the tech giant\u2019s reprehensible practices has brought together a broad group of actors from civil society. Last October, the\u00a0<\/span>UNI Global Union-supported\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Make Amazon Pay coalition of over 70 trade unions, NGOs,\u00a0environmentalists and tax watchdogs<\/span>\u00a0including<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Progressive International, Oxfam, Greenpeace,\u00a0<\/span>350.org<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and the\u00a0<\/span>Tax Justice Network, as they promoted<\/span>\u00a0strikes and protests in over<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>20 countries on Black Friday<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>demand Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0pay its workers fairly and respects their right to join unions, pays its fair share of taxes, and commits to real environmental sustainability.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Representing more than 20 million workers in 150 countries,\u00a0UNI Global Union\u00a0is\u00a0driven by the responsibility to ensure skills and service jobs are decent jobs and that workers\u2019 rights are protected, including the right of union representation and collective bargaining.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Good Jobs First is a national policy resource center based in Washington, DC that promotes corporate and government accountability in economic development.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tax breaks received for opening data centres, warehouses or office complexes that help Amazon gain a market-share advantage are likely much larger. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5211,"template":"","categories":[41],"global-issues":[],"sectors":[11],"cross-sector-groups":[],"workers-rights":[31],"regions":[87,86,85,84],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-5208","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","sectors-commerce","workers-rights-uni-amazon-global-union-alliance","regions-uni-africa","regions-uni-americas","regions-uni-asia-pacific","regions-uni-europa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon extracted at least $4.7 billion in subsidies, new report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to a new UNI Global Union and Good Jobs First report, Amazon secured economic development subsidies that total at least $4.7B.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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