'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.

Well played Microsoft

[mykro76]

Who employs more degree-holders in the US?

• Amazon - 600K worldwide, but only about 60K it calls US corporate workers (likely to be degree holders) - the rest are low-wage fulfilment workers. Will pay tax on gross of 230 billion (2018).
• Microsoft - 130K worldwide, with 80K in the US, likely to be virtually all corporate workers. Would pay tax on gross of 110 billion (2018).

So Microsoft is likely to hire more degree holders than Amazon, yet forces Amazon to contribute twice as much to boosting the graduate pool.

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

Go Microsoft!

[Sivaraj]

I would have never believed I would say this 20 years back. That too on Slashdot. But,

Go Micro$oft!!!

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?