{"id":2148,"date":"2022-02-09T12:21:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T12:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/?post_type=news&p=2148"},"modified":"2022-02-09T14:15:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T14:15:08","slug":"amazons-hidden-subsidies","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/news\/amazons-hidden-subsidies\/","title":{"rendered":"New report: Amazon’s secret subsidies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazon,\u00a0notorious\u00a0tax-dodger, extracted\u00a0at least\u00a0$4.7\u00a0billion in subsidies from\u00a0taxpayers\u00a0globally. The total amount of tax breaks received by Amazon\u00a0\u201ccould be significantly higher\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amazon, the $1.4 trillion tech juggernaut and notorious tax-dodger, is not only vying for more consumers\u2019 dollars, it also aggressively seeks taxpayers\u2019 money. The full report by UNI Global Union and Good Jobs First, is entitled Amazon.com’s Hidden Worldwide Subsidies<\/em><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

From Buenos Aires to Hyderabad, the available evidence\u00a0pulled from\u00a0public records, investor reports and company statements\u00a0suggests Amazon\u00a0has an insatiable appetite for public subsidies.\u00a0The tax breaks received for opening data centres, warehouses or office complexes that help Amazon gain\u00a0a\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\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon\u00a0is\u00a0one of the richest and fastest growing companies in the world.\u00a0It racked up\u00a0$44 billion in European sales in 2020 but\u00a0paid no corporate taxes\u2014all while\u00a0snooping\u00a0on workers and dragging\u00a0down labour conditions, said Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union. \u00a0\u201cIt\u00a0shouldn\u2019t receive a penny from taxpayers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\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<\/p>\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,\u201d said Hoffman.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAmazon\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\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\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\u00a0UNI Global Union-supported\u00a0the\u00a0Make Amazon Pay coalition of over 70 trade unions, NGOs,\u00a0environmentalists and tax watchdogs\u00a0including\u00a0Progressive International, Oxfam, Greenpeace,\u00a0350.org<\/a>,\u00a0and the\u00a0Tax Justice Network, as they promoted\u00a0strikes and protests in over<\/a>\u00a020 countries on Black Friday<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0demand Amazon<\/a>\u00a0pay its workers fairly and respects their right to join unions, pays its fair share of taxes, and commits to real environmental sustainability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon,\u00a0notorious\u00a0tax-dodger, extracted\u00a0at least\u00a0$4.7\u00a0billion in subsidies from\u00a0taxpayers\u00a0globally. The total amount of tax breaks received by Amazon\u00a0\u201ccould be significantly higher\u201d.\u00a0 Amazon, the $1.4 trillion tech juggernaut and notorious tax-dodger, is not only vying for more consumers\u2019 dollars, it also aggressively seeks taxpayers\u2019 money. The full report by UNI Global Union and Good Jobs First, is entitled Amazon.com’s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1,48],"topics":[78],"sectors":[],"projects":[],"cross-sector-groups":[],"workers-rights":[],"global-issues":[],"regions":[98],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew report: Amazon's secret subsidies - UNI Europa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-europa.org\/news\/amazons-hidden-subsidies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New report: Amazon's secret subsidies - UNI Europa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amazon,\u00a0notorious\u00a0tax-dodger, extracted\u00a0at least\u00a0$4.7\u00a0billion in subsidies from\u00a0taxpayers\u00a0globally. 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