Amazon, Facebook, other large firms would pay more under proposed minimum tax, Warren’s office says

Amazon, Facebook and other large businesses would pay more in taxes if a 15 percent minimum tax on high-earning companies proposed by Democrats passed, according to a report released Thursday by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) office. 

The proposal in question, the text of which was released late last month by Warren, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), would apply to all companies that report more than $1 billion in profits to shareholders.

The report from Warren’s office said the proposal, known as the Corporate Profits Minimum Tax, would raise $319 billion in taxes over the next 10 years.

The tax is included as a funding source in Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social spending package.

The report noted that its analysis, which examined the potential impact of the proposal on 70 companies, showed that if the 15 percent minimum tax was implemented, those businesses would pay up to $22 billion more than they do under the current tax rate — in a single year.

Per the report, in 2020 Amazon had an annual profit of about $24.2 trillion and paid roughly $2.8 trillion in taxes. Estimates found that, if the proposed tax were implemented, the company would have paid an additional $836 million.

Meanwhile, in 2020 Facebook had an annual profit of about $33.2 trillion and paid $4.5 trillion, according to the report. It would have paid an added $469 million under the tax proposal.

In the case of T-Mobile US, which reported an annual profit last year of $3.5 trillion and received a tax refund of $7 million, the report found that under the proposed tax the company would have paid $537 million in added taxes, for a $544 million gain in tax revenue.

“Billionaire corporations have gotten a free ride in America for too long. It’s time to stop letting giant corporations cheat the system — they should pay taxes just like everyone else,” Warren said in a statement upon the release of her report. “My Corporate Profits Minimum Tax would help put an end to tax-rigging schemes and raise billions in revenue so we can make real investments in American families.”

CTIA, the wireless industry association, issued a statement on behalf of T-Mobile US criticizing the tax proposal, but it did not comment on the millions more it would have paid had it been subject to a 15 percent minimum tax rate.

“The proposed tax change would dramatically increase the cost of deploying wireless infrastructure, limiting our ability [to] close the digital divide while allowing China and other countries to leap ahead in the global race to 5G,” CTIA said in a statement.

“We encourage Congress to pursue solutions that encourage U.S. investment, jobs, and help secure our leadership of the emerging 5G economy.”

The Hill has reached out to Amazon and Facebook for comment.

Updated at 5:53 p.m.