[News] Is donating 8% of your wealth when you’ve still got $120bn left really that generous?

[Pavilionaire]

Paying bugger all tax then donating 8% is positively Dickensian. How about just pay a fair amount of tax on your profits in the first place?

 

[beorhthelm]

I have no intention of defending Amazon's taxation policy, which is morally reprehensible. They are able to operate in this fashion, due to legal loopholes, where International legislation and the will to make changes are sorely lagging behind the need for reform. Amazon can justifiably argue they need to be competitive.

They built the business on sustaining huge losses, whilst retail growth was the main driver. Their retail business is now dwarfed by the cloud hosting business, which does not operate on such tight margins.

the thing is in the case of Amazon they didnt really use loopholes but used tax law as it was intended, to encourage and support cross border trade. as you say they sustained losses for years and now make fat profits off what started as a side business.

 

[Surrey Phil]

There’s an awful lot of jealousy on here. Ultimately, the guy has earned his fortune (tax opinions aside) and the money is his, to do as he wishes. The fact he is doing something so important, that will hopefully benefit the world, should only be applauded!

 

[Skaville]

Amazon paid £220m in tax in the UK last year. Meanwhile many others didn’t pay a penny

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-6522913/amp/Almost-1-5-biggest-firms-paid-year-5-got-handout-taxman.html

 

[dazzer6666]

Yup, that's pretty vile behaviour, tho about par for the course for the ever-disgusting banking sector

Disagree entirely. It’s a commercial organisation with a responsibility to it’s owners, and has (trust me on this - good chance I’ll be one of the 35000) many areas that might benefit from being a bit more efficient (like most big corporations).

 

[portlock seagull]

There’s an awful lot of jealousy on here. Ultimately, the guy has earned his fortune (tax opinions aside) and the money is his, to do as he wishes. The fact he is doing something so important, that will hopefully benefit the world, should only be applauded!

If you’re accusing me then you couldn’t be more wrong. Moreover, it is ok to challenge extreme wealth as a force for bad. It might surprise you to learn those Oligarchs didn’t all start on a graduate scheme and work their way up to control state energy reserves with shareholders voting to throw money at them every quarter. Some might even be, you know, a bit hookey, missed a tax payment, meddled in an election...that sort of thing.

 

[Simster]

There’s an awful lot of jealousy on here. Ultimately, the guy has earned his fortune (tax opinions aside) and the money is his, to do as he wishes. The fact he is doing something so important, that will hopefully benefit the world, should only be applauded!

What do you mean "(tax opinions aside)"? That is fundamental to the position of most unimpressed people on here, and you're putting it in brackets like it just an aside. Give your head a wobble because you sound absurdly pious and consequently a bit stupid IMO.