IT’S NOT AMAZON
Government pay them £11.8m for online storage.. US giants’ tax bill is just £4.6m
AMAZON were paid more for online storage services in three months by the Government than the firm’s biggest UK arm was taxed last year.
The £11.8million paid to Amazon Web Services in the first quarter dwarfs the £4.6million in corporation tax which was collected from Amazon UK Services, who run online shopping warehouses.
Robert Palmer, of Tax Justice UK, said: “It’s quite ironic that the Government are spending more on Amazon than they are paying in tax.”
It emerged last week that it was Amazon UK Services’ lowest tax bill since 2012.
Accounts also show the firm paid £54.1million in National Insurance contributions in 2017 – compared to £70.1million paid by Guy’s Hospital in London for 2017-18.
Amazon UK Services said they paid all the tax they were required to “in the UK and every country where we operate”. The firm added: “Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given that retail is a highly competitive, low-margin business and our continued heavy investment.”
A Government spokesman said there had been “fair, open and transparent competition” for the provision of cloud storage of documents.
He added: “This particular provider was the right choice for technical expertise and value for money.
“HMRC make sure that large businesses, just like everyone else, pay all the taxes due under UK law and don’t settle for less.”