Amazon pays £63m rates bill – despite sales of £8bn

AMAZON pays only £63million in business rates despite sales of £8billion, it emerged last night.

The bill was a closely guarded secret until the US retail giant was forced to reveal it by MPs.

Its publication angered other retailers who pay far more – despite lower sales.

The bill is legitimate because Amazon does not have to rely on actual shops, cutting the levy it pays on premises.

But rivals say this gives it an unfair advantage and taxes created before the advent of online sales need replacing. High street stores paid far more in business rates than Amazon.

Debenhams and Next were hit with an £80million bill last year on revenues of £2.3billion and £4billion respectively.

John Lewis, which includes Waitrose, paid £172million based on sales of £10.2billion in 2018; while Marks & Spencer handed over £184million to the Treasury from £9.6billion in sales.

Jake Berry, the minister for the high street, admitted yesterday that the business rate regime was unfair.

He told MPs on the Commons housing, communities and local government committee, which forced Amazon to reveal its business rates bill: ‘It doesn’t seem that is creating a level playing field to me.’ The crisis has been put under the spotlight by the Daily Mail’s Save Our High Streets campaign following thousands of job losses and swathes of store closures in struggling town centres.

Firms such as Amazon typically rely on massive warehouses in cheap areas, where rates are far lower than for large stores in prime high street locations.

Experts have warned 10,000 shops could shut this year as traditional stores battle to survive. The Treasury has pledged £900million in business rates relief for smaller high street firms. But critics have said the proposals do not go far enough.

Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley has warned the internet is ‘killing the high street’ and called for an online sales tax.

Labour MP Clive Betts, chairman of the committee, said: ‘Ensuring a level playing field will be vital if we are to create an environment where our high streets can thrive.’

A spokesman for Amazon said: ‘Last year, Amazon paid local authorities in England and Wales over £63million in business rates for the sites we use.

‘Business rates, which are just one of a number of taxes Amazon pays in the UK, are based on the rateable value of the land a business uses. These payments are just part of Amazon’s broader £9.3billion investment in the UK since 2010.’