Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

admin
Pinned May 31, 2018

<> Embed

@  Email

Report

Uploaded by user
Amazon resumes HQ expansion after Seattle tax compromise
<> Embed @  Email Report

Amazon resumes HQ expansion after Seattle tax compromise

Amazon has graciously resumed construction work in Seattle after the City Council “compromised” on a controversial tax that will see the tech giant — that turned over $51 billion in sales during the last quarter alone — on the hook for $11 million annually. A sum that will be used to tackle the city’s homelessness issue.

Last month’s tax proposal would charge employers in Seattle that make more than $20 million a year $500 per employee, with the view to raising a total $75 million to build affordable homes and fund services for the homeless. For Amazon, which is currently undergoing major expansion plans in the city — including a new headquarters — this would add up to around just $20 million per year. But the company threw its toys out of the pram and halted all construction work while a decision on the proposal was finalized.

The city has now passed a smaller version of the “head tax” — $275 per employee per year, or $11 million total. Amazon has since resumed building work but still isn’t pleased, and says it’s questioning its future — and therefore the creation of 7,000 jobs — in Seattle because of the “council’s hostile approach”. Of course, Amazon isn’t solely responsible for the increasing homelessness issue in Seattle, but the city’s booming tech industry has driven up the cost of living overall, and city officials are struggling to find a balance between encouraging business growth and maintaining affordable housing.

The tax that Amazon takes issue with — but could very easily afford — is designed to mitigate this issue. Of course, the company sees it a different way. In a statement released today it said, “The city does not have a revenue problem – it has a spending efficiency problem. We are highly uncertain whether the city council’s anti-business positions or its spending inefficiency will change for the better.”

Engadget RSS Feed

(26)

Pinned onto