Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump's Claims Against Amazon Are Sheer Hypocrisy

Trump's Claims Against Amazon Are Sheer Hypocrisy
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

They're also completely false.

President Donald Trump has targeted Amazon as an example of a company that he claims doesn't pay enough in taxes. The hypocrisy is impossible to miss, and, the president's claims are completely untrue.


Amazon pays sales taxes in 45 out of 50 states. Trump's online retail store, however, does not. In fact, Trump's branded merchandise only pays sales taxes on goods shipped to two states. Trump's retail products are also sold out of a location in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City.


Trump's attacks on Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, have been pouring through Twitter. The president's Twitter attacks have not been limited to Amazon, though. Since the days of the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has also called The Washington Post, which is also owned by Bezos, "more fiction than fact," aka, fake news.


In addition to accusing Amazon of cheating the government out of tax revenue, the president has also falsely claimed that the online retail giant is "causing tremendous loss" to the United States Postal Service, on which Amazon relies for the majority of its deliveries.

Last year, Amazon paid $412 million in federal, state, and foreign taxes in 2017, according to regulatory filings. In 2016, they paid $273 million. And although the Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that retailers don't have to pay sales taxes in states where they don't have physical locations or employees, Amazon's representatives have publicly supported legislation that would ensure all online retailers pay local taxes.


"Trumpstore.com has always, and will continue to collect, report, and remit sales taxes in jurisdictions where it has an obligation to do so," a Trumpstore.com spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal. But because Trump has not released his tax records, the public has no way of knowing how much, if anything, Trump's retail brand has paid in federal, state, or local taxes.

Over the weekend, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers compared Trump's attacks on Amazon to Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini.

"What is not the job of the president of the United States is to go on a jihad against a company because he does not like the activities of a newspaper that is privately owned by its CEO," Summers said. "That is the kind of thing that happened in Mussolini's Italy … that is not the kind of thing that happens in the American democracy. It is something that should be deeply concerning to business people everywhere," he added.

More from People/donald-trump

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic
Disney/Marvel Studios

Pedro Pascal Adjusts Accent

Pedro Pascal was advised to tone down the Mid-Atlantic accent for his upcoming role as the stretchy Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps.

In a video interview with Vanity Fair, he reflected on his past and current work and talked about working with a dialect coach for the Marvel movie, which is set to premiere on July 25th.

Keep ReadingShow less
Country Singer Gavin Adcock went on a drunken rant over Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" success.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Country singer rants over Beyoncé album

Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.

Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Dionne Warwick; Tiny Chef
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images; @ToonHive/X

Dionne Warwick Is Ready To Go To War With Nickelodeon Over 'Tiny Chef' Cancellation

You know your campaign against a show's cancellation is achieving widespread attention when you get people like venerated singer Dionne Warwick advocating for you.

Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show was recently cancelled, much to the dismay of its viewers and creators. It was also a genuinely surprising decision, since the show has won an Emmy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman relaxing in sunhat and sunglasses
Photo by Jordan Bauer on Unsplash

People Explain Which 'Small Luxuries' They Can't Live Without

Many of us have committed to being fairly financially frugal and not overspending on silly, unnecessary things.

That is to say, sometimes, it's fun to splurge on something one time to see what it's like to experience that small luxury.

Keep ReadingShow less
two women in emotional distress seated on couch
Ben White on Unsplash

People Who've Experienced Grief Share The Most Tone-Deaf Things They've Heard

Grief, loss, trauma are all part of life. But for most people, the emotions and reactions that go with them are difficult to witness.

So they rely on platitudes to fill any holes in conversation. That's rarely a good idea.

Keep ReadingShow less