Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world and has an estimated fortune of over $200.6billion, seeing his wealth surge during the Covid-19 pandemic.
His company, Amazon, had no problems increasing sales during lockdown either, with a 51% rise in profits and a record breaking global quarterly profit of $109billion.
Paul Monaghan, the chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation, said: "These figures are mind-blowing, even for Amazon."
"We are seeing exponentially accelerated market domination across the globe on the back of income that continues to be largely untaxed – allowing it to unfairly undercut local businesses that take a more responsible approach."
It is worth noting, none of what Amazon does is explicitly illegal and they operate within the laws created and upheld by governments across the world.
In a recent meeting between Boris Johnson and Bezos, the UK Prime Minister 'raised the question of taxation' and workers rights. Bezos has no obligation to listen to this, while current laws stay in place.
Do Amazon pay tax in the UK?
Amazon paid just £492m in 2020 UK direct taxes, while estimates put the company’s tax-to-turnover ratio at just 0.37%. For context, the higher rate of income tax for an individual in England is 40%.
Why is this? All sales made to UK customers go through a Luxembourg-based company, Amazon EU Sarl. This bypasses HMRC and takes advantage of the nation's generous tax breaks.
The European Commission concluded in 2017, that Luxembourg granted undue tax benefits and illegal state aid to Amazon and was ordered to recover a quarter of a billion euros in unpaid tax.
However, Amazon later won a case that meant this wasn't paid.
A company spokesperson said: "Amazon pays all the taxes required in every country where we operate."
Despite a record sales income of €44bn in Europe, Amazon paid zero corporation tax during 2020.
Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP who campaigns against tax avoidance, said: "It seems that Amazon’s relentless campaign of appalling tax avoidance continues."
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