Amazon's Tax Bill Plunges 87% After Tax Cuts
11 116An anonymous reader shares a report: Republicans' tax cuts shaved billions off Amazon's tax bill, new government filings show. The company says it ran a $1.2 billion tax bill last year, down from $9 billion the previous year, and even as its profits jumped by 45% to nearly $90 billion.
That's largely because of the generous new depreciation breaks GOP lawmakers included in their One Big Beautiful Bill, something that's particularly important to Amazon which -- in addition to maintaining a vast infrastructure for its ubiquitous delivery business -- has been spending billions to build out artificial intelligence data centers.
Also helping, though less important: The law's expanded breaks for businesses research and development expenses. The company has long been criticized by Democrats for paying little in tax, and it appeared to be bracing for criticism in the wake of the report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
11 comments
That's funny (Score: 5, Insightful)
by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @07:17PM (#65973814)
My tax bill didn't drop 87%. I should probably pick up the phone and call Donald Trump and ask him about it. I'm sure he'll be happy to answer the phone and talk to me right? Right?
I'm sure he has also personally replied to the dozens and dozens of people on the internet who have made posts talking about how they're going to die from lack of medical care after the big beautiful Bill eliminated their health care insurance.
Re:That's funny (Score: 5, Insightful)
by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @07:48PM (#65973834)
Yu need to butter up the rapist before you get these cuts.
Re: That's funny (Score: 5, Informative)
by gurps_npc ( 621217 ) on Saturday February 07, 2026 @11:09AM (#65974646)
Uhm, you clearly missed the point of his sarcastic statement. He is not really saying he wanted the tax break. He was saying that they should not get the tax break they did.
You did a great job of listing the ways Amazon got the tax break and talked about how his own tax breaks went away. You did nothing at all to justify those tax breaks. You clearly thought they were obviously good ideas, when no they were not.
So to clarify:
1) Trump is a bad person for giving tax breaks to a company in exchange for things they already wanted and were going to do anyway. They would have done their OWN infrastructure building with or without the tax break. These were not roads for other citizens, it was building data centers for their own use. Similarly, they needed the research and development more than the country did. We are paying them massive tax breaks for things that benefit them and no one else. Hey - can I get a massive 82% tax break for building my own home? It's infrastructure!
2) Those people that lost medicare coverage WERE eligible for them. He did not increase investigation - he changed the eligibility rules. Specifically, if a Haitian refuge over 65 years old had worked in the US for at least 10 years - paying taxes - they would not get Medicare. He also made it harder to access programs without changing eligibility (MSPS) because poor people definitely are very good at navigating bureaucracy.
His snark was fairly easy to decode for everyone else but you.
Re:So... (Score: 5, Insightful)
by scumdamn ( 82357 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @07:47PM (#65973832)
When an indefensible story makes your side look bad claim "both sides". Textbook.
What a coincidence (Score: 5, Insightful)
by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @07:41PM (#65973830)
Amazon gets its tax bill reduced by almost 90% while at the same time it produces a schlock film about an illegal immigrant who used chain migration to get their parents into the country.
CONSUME (Score: 5, Funny)
by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @08:48PM (#65973886)
I'd boycott but I need same day delivery too much.
The headline should read.... (Score: 5, Insightful)
by Travco ( 1872216 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:18PM (#65973966)
70 million dollar bribe pays off big!
Better than a hundred to one!
Re:This also helps my business (Score: 5, Insightful)
by haruchai ( 17472 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @07:39PM (#65973828)
surely there are ways to help "small business" however the GOP defines such without also giving a luscious handj...er, handshake to companies that have never paid their fair share
Re: This also helps my business (Score: 5, Insightful)
by radl33t ( 900691 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:23PM (#65973970)
Sounds good to me! They can pass them on to their customers. Then we can each voluntarily decide if those products and their actual costs including externalities are worth it. Sounds like a basis upon which to construct a rational market place rather than opaquely burying the true cost of their business using subsidies comprised of my tax dollars. Would be great if their heavy vehicles paid their share of road wear too, so the full costs of their products were built into the prices consumers pay rather than me! I guess giving rich people handouts to let them grow richer is cool too.
I love trickle down economics (Score: 5, Insightful)
by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @08:09PM (#65973848)
Is this some dry satire or something? Isn't Amazon responsible for destroying small and local businesses with it's aggressive pricing policies and sellers fees? Didn't we witness the destruction of brick and mortar stores at the hands of Amazon just two decades prior?
Re: This also helps my business (Score: 5, Funny)
by ToasterMonkey ( 467067 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @10:02PM (#65973954)
That's awesome, and it helps Amazon more. One of the last companies on the planet that needed a leg up. May their investments trickle upon you.