'Making Amazon Look Bad': Microsoft Is Backing a Major Tax On Itself and Amazon (geekwire.com)

Microsoft is urging lawmakers in Washington to increase the tax burden on itself and Amazon (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source) to help pay for a new higher education fund. "The bill, which was introduced Monday by Rep. Drew Hansen and Rep. Gerry Pollet among others, "would pour about a billion dollars over the next four years into a 'workforce education account,' to be spent on more financial aid as well as more degree slots in high-demand subjects such as computer science, engineering and nursing," The Seattle Times reports. Microsoft and Amazon would be the only two companies included in the highest tax bracket. From the report: The premise now is to put a surcharge on businesses that benefit the most from a highly skilled workforce. That means high-tech of course, as well as professional services firms. The bill proposes increasing the state business and occupation tax by 20 percent on about 40 categories of technical services, such as telecom, engineering, medical and finance. And by 33 percent on tech firms with more than $25 billion in annual revenue. But here's where this goes off the charts, into politically unheard-of territory. It mandates a top rate, a whopping 67 percent business tax increase, for those "advanced computing businesses" with "worldwide gross revenue of more than one hundred billion dollars" per year. There are only two businesses headquartered here that fit that rarefied description. And one of them, Microsoft, is the tax's biggest booster.

But that other company that would also be most on the hook? Apparently it isn't so thrilled to have been volunteered for civic duty by one of its chief rivals. "Amazon was surprised to be included in such a public 'hey, let's do this' by Microsoft," said Rep. Gael Tarleton, D-Seattle, who said she heard that lament directly from an Amazon lobbyist. Added Pollet: "Amazon has groused in meetings down here that Microsoft is doing this mostly as a way of making Amazon look bad."

Comments

If anyone makes Amazon look bad, it's AMZN

[reanjr]

Microsoft doesn't decide how Amazon operates. If Amazon looks bad, it's down to Amazon alone.

Re: Yep. There's a West Coast "Solution"

[Anonymous Coward]

Economist nice right wing website there

I raise you
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/97916.asp
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2018-02-27/in-most-states-poorest-school-districts-get-less-funding
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/segregation-school-funding-inequalities-still-punishing-black-latino-students-n837186
https://hechingerreport.org/the-gap-between-rich-and-poor-schools-grew-44-percent-over-a-decade/
https://edtrust.org/resource/funding-gaps-2018/
https://www.thenation.com/article/how-unequal-school-funding-punishes-poor-kids/
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/cost-of-education-in-us/
https://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/may/19/schools-rich-neighborhoods-receive-more-tax-dollar/
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/08/property-taxes-and-unequal-schools/497333/
https://www.philly.com/philly/education/pennsylvania-school-funding-lawsuit-rich-poor-districts-20180706.html

Businesses do not pay tax

[SirAstral]

Notice that line item on your receipts that say "Tax:$$$"... you pay that, not the business... they just collect for uncle sam from you.
Did you also know that businesses calculate the total cost of a product they buy from whole-sellers and vendors, which they paid taxes on, which is a cost they transfer to the consumer that buys the end product?

Did you know that when you cheer on a business paying MORE tax you are actually just cheering on the poor paying more for all of their products? People cheered windfall taxes... prices at the pumps when up... then they cried about it. I was like... huh? you cheered for this you numb-nuts!

The poor tax is real, and it has everything to do with being ignorant about how the economy works. Microsoft is a big company, the money they make filters down to you... the lowly consumer, and NO you do not escape that cost just because you don't use windows. You buy food, your store might use Windows, you pay bills, that company might be using Windows. They all pass down the cost of buying their licenses from Microsoft to you... their customer.

Have you wondered why your dollars do not go as far as they used to? It's not just inflation... inflation is just one component, in fact inflation is more a tax on your savings than anything else.

Let's make this simple.

You own a Burger Joint.
Taxes today for a $5 burger is 10%
Customer pays $5.50 for that burger.
Taxes tomorrow for a $5 burger is 15%
Customer now pays $5.75 for that burger.
Those that cheer for taxes like this, is like the customer cheering that their burger just went up 25 cents. Hurray for you, your senators thank you for your gullibility! They will happily take 20 cents of that 25 and give it to their cronies... D or R it matters not.

It is not a joke when they say that the poor pay for everything and it is not a joke when a reasonable minimum wage is enforced to ensure a minimum viable economy, because if the poor have no money the rich soon lose theirs as well. Look at how many rich folks also suffered in Venezuela when it ran out. Only the super rich are finding ways to survive and that is mostly because they are connected to power, not just because they have $$$.

Couple this with the fact that another poster mentioned that Americans already pay more than enough for education, you might as well call that more than enough evidence that foul play is afoot and you need a sanity check to cheer this on any longer.

And lets not forgot how many businesses that still get out of paying taxes through loophole laws, brought to you by none other that the very elected officials everyone that cheers for this voted in. Do you feel the daggers in your backs yet? No? Okay, that's great... it means they can dig it in further and twist a little more!

Re:Businesses do not pay tax

[anarcobra]

You are simplifying things in the other direction from GP.
Yes, businesses will raise their price as high as they can, but burger places are competitive, so consumers have the choice of going to a cheaper place. So there will be an equilibrium between maximizing profits and not going to far from the competition. (assuming there is no price fixing)
A tax will affect all the competition as well, so there is a good chance the price of burgers will go up across the board.

Here's a crazy idea

[VeryFluffyBunny]

How about govt. doing its job & making sure everyone pays their fair share of taxes in order to fund the stuff that everyone needs from their govt., e.g. public transportation, education, healthcare, urban planning, law enforcement & judiciary, & public health & safety, you know, all the stuff that improves the standard of living & quality of life for everyone?

That means everyone, including billionaires & corporations, who are currently starving govts. of the funds they need to provide opportunities, safety, health, & security for everyone.

Or you can carry on marching towards poverty & disenfranchisement because the billionaires & corporations fill the power void left by libertarian ideological "small govt." Does that sound democratic & civilised to you?