Amazon’s Bezos spars with Biden on Twitter about inflation
- In a tweet Bezos accused Biden of ‘misdirection’ in response to the President saying inflation could be tamed by making wealthy firms ‘pay their fair share’
- Amazon registered global revenue of US$469 billion in 2021 and is often criticised for not contributing enough in federal levies, given its size
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos on Friday accused President Joe Biden of “misdirection” on Twitter in response to the US leader’s tweet saying inflation could be tamed by making wealthy corporations “pay their fair share.”
The exchange began on Friday evening with Biden’s tweet: “You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.”
Amazon, which paid US$3.7 billion in US taxes in 2021 on global revenue of $469 billion, is often criticised for not contributing enough in federal levies, given its size. Still Bezos, the world’s second-wealthiest man who is often held up as a poster boy for income inequality, wasn’t ready to sit by and start taking heat for inflation as well.
Bezos, personally paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011, ProPublica reported last year.
“The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead,” Bezos tweeted, referring to the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board announced in April. “Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection.”