Do businesses like Amazon that short-change our community affect our ability to respond to a crisis?
In this pandemic, Bridge thanks first responders and the many people that help our communities work together. When I think of communities during Covid-19, Amazon comes to mind. I do think there is value in looking back at the last 24 months leading up to today and asking: did Amazon slow down our community's ability to respond?
Amazon historically pays less in corporate taxes than other ...
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May 6, 2019
May 6, 2019
Does your state give your small business back almost 50% of the taxes you paid? I doubt it, but thatβs what California gives Best Buy and some other businesses. Todayβs Times shares that local municipalities are giving kick backs to businesses in order to compete for business. While competition is healthy, itβs unfair and potentially detrimental to give tax breaks to some companies and not others, and give breaks that may be excessive.
Californiaβs odd tax rules make gaming the system easier ...
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November 16, 2017
November 16, 2017
Todayβs Times highlights the current loophole that Amazon uses when charging taxes. Amazon doesnβt charge tax on its marketplace sales, which total in the billions. Third-party sellers such as stores use the marketplace to sell goods and often donβt charge (nor collect) sales tax that they should be.
Side note: the e-commence tax debate goes back to 1992 with Quill Corporation vs. North Dakota court decision.
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September 14, 2017
September 14, 2017
Know someone that shops on Amazon.com? Thank them for supporting a company that cheats American schools (taxes pay for better schools), safety in our community (taxes pay for safety), and the repairing of roads (ditto).
Need some proof? Here's some:
Franklin Foer, in his book World Without Mind, recounts how Amazon, according to IRS calculations, has used a headquarters in Luxembourg to dodge "a bill of at least $1.5 billion that would otherwise have been paid to the US government."