John,

In 2018, Amazon paid $0 in federal income taxes to the United States of America on $11 billion in profits.[1] It paid a tax rate of just 5% on nearly $80 billion in profits the last four years. That’s far less than the 13% federal income tax rate paid by the average taxpayer.[2]

Taxpayers and Amazon investors, customers, and employees deserve to know how one of the largest corporations in the world is avoiding paying its fair share in taxes―so we can stop it in the future!

Next week, they may get their wish.

Thanks to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Amazon shareholders will vote next Wednesday, May 25, on whether to hold Amazon accountable by requiring it to disclose its revenues, profits, taxes, and other useful information relating to actual operations in each of the countries where it books income. This will expose Amazon’s shifting of profits offshore to avoid paying what it owes in taxes here at home.  

Sign the petition now urging Amazon shareholders to vote in favor of tax transparency. We’ll deliver your signature to shareholders before next week’s meeting!

When shareholders first called for a resolution that would require Amazon to make public the taxes it pays in every country around the world, Amazon tried to kill the motion. Thankfully, the SEC stepped in and ruled that the motion must be voted on―essentially giving all of us some voice in how this giant corporation operates.

Offshore profit shifting by corporations is estimated to cost the U.S. government as much as $100 billion in lost tax revenue every year.[3] Amazon, which is worth $1.1 trillion, doesn’t want the public to know how much of that lost revenue it owes.[4] Public disclosure could allow investors and the public to find out.  

That’s why we’re asking you to sign the petition urging all Amazon shareholders, even those who hold stock through their retirement accounts, to vote in favor of Amazon Shareholder Proposal #12: Tax Transparency. Sign today!

Thank you for fighting to hold large, profitable corporations accountable and demanding they start paying their fair share in taxes.

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “Amazon Avoids More Than $5 Billion in Corporate Income Taxes, Reports 6 Percent Tax Rate on $35 Billion of US Income,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Feb. 7, 2022
[2] “Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2022 Update,” Tax Foundation, Jan. 20, 2022
[3] “The Made in America Tax Plan,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, April, 2021
[4] “Market capitalization of Amazon (AMZN)” Companies Market Cap, May 16, 2022