Overview

• Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple, and Microsoft collectively paid an average effective tax rate of 18.8% over the last decade, compared to the U.S. statutory rate of 29.7%.
• The Fair Tax Foundation's report claims these companies avoided approximately $278 billion in corporate income taxes through tactics like profit shifting and exploiting tax contingencies.
• An additional $82 billion in reported tax obligations was inflated by including provisions for payments that were unlikely to be made.
• Amazon was singled out for its use of profit shifting, such as booking a significant portion of its UK income in low-tax Luxembourg, while Netflix had the lowest effective tax rate among the six at 14.7%.
• The findings have drawn attention to the companies' significant lobbying efforts and political influence, which critics argue help sustain favorable tax conditions.