Amazon paid nearly £3bn tax in UK last year

AMAZON paid nearly £3bn of tax in the UK last year.

In an attempt to fend off criticism it does not pay its fair share, the internet giant published a wideranging blog post outlining details of its finances.

Amazon said its tax contributions were made up of £648m in direct taxes through national insurance, business rates and other levies. And it paid £2.1bn of indirect taxes, including through VAT.

The US-based business made £23.2bn of revenue in the UK last year, up from £20.6bn a year earlier. Its tax contributions place it among the top 15 taxpayers within the UK’s biggest 100 companies, according to analysis by accountancy PwC.

And, in the post published overnight, Amazon highlighted its investment and job creation in the UK since 2010. It said its total investment in the country through opening warehouses and offices, as well as hiring staff, has been £ 43bn, including £11.4bn last year.

Last week Amazon said it will create 4,000 jobs in the UK this year, making it one of the country’s ten biggest private employers with a total of 75,000 staff. But campaign group Tax Justice Network said Amazon has resisted pressure to sign up to globally report profits and tax standards used by the likes of Vodafone and Philips.