Biden guilty of ‘misdirection’ over inflation, claims Bezos

JEFF BEZOS has accused Joe Biden of “misdirection” after the US president linked higher taxes on businesses with tackling rising inflation.

The billionaire Amazon founder was responding to tweets by Mr Biden calling for tax rises, including one that said: “You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.”

In an unusual public political statement, Mr Bezos said that rising inflation “hurts the least affluent”.

He added: “Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection.”

Mr Bezos went on to praise Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who voted against Mr Biden’s “build back better” economic stimulus plan, saying Mr Biden’s party had “tried hard to inject even more stimulus into an already over-heated, inflationary economy”.

US inflation is running at about 8.1pc, having slowed from March’s 8.5pc rate.

“Inflation is a regressive tax that most hurts the least affluent,” Mr Bezos continued. “Misdirection doesn’t help the country.”

The White House hit back at Mr Bezos. Andrew Bates, deputy press secretary, said: “It doesn’t require a huge leap to figure out why one of the wealthiest individuals on earth opposes an economic agenda for the middle class that cuts some of the biggest costs families face, fights inflation for the long haul and adds to the historic deficit reduction the president is achieving.”

The “build back better” plan pledges a large boost in public spending funded by higher taxes on the rich and their businesses.

Mr Biden had boasted that his government was “on track to cut the federal deficit by $1.5trillion (£1.2trillion) by the end of the fiscal year”, linking this plan to higher taxes.

Last year Mr Bezos said “we’re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate” after the US president suggested raising the US corporation levy from 21pc to 28pc.

Lloyd Blankfein, the former Goldman Sachs chief executive, has warned of a “very, very high risk” of recession as inflation rates continue to increase in the US to highs not seen since the financial crisis of 2008.

During 2021, Amazon paid £492m in direct UK taxes as its sales rose by 50pc to £20.63bn.

While companies pay corporation taxes on their profits, Amazon’s 12-figure revenues have prompted public scrutiny across the world.