400 politicians from all over the globe demanded that Amazon’s Jeff Bezos pay more tax.
The said politicians also asked the multibillionaire to increase his employee’s salaries and to do more to protect the environment.
The letter written to Bezos claimed that Amazon has dodged and dismissed its debts to workers, societies, and the planet and that the world knows his company can afford to pay its workers.
At the beginning of the letter, the politicians addressed how Amazon became a trillion-dollar corporation over the course of the pandemic and how Bezos has since become the first person to amass $200 billion in personal wealth.
“Like all major corporations, Amazon’s success would be impossible without the public institutions that citizens built together over generations.point 430 |
But instead of giving back to the societies that helped it grow, the corporation starves them of tax revenue through its world-beating efforts at tax dodging.point 133 | In 2019, Amazon paid just 1.point 156 | 2% tax in the US, the country it is headquartered in, up from 0% the two previous years,” the letter reads.point 245 | 1
“While those behind the letter understand that Amazon is not alone in its ‘bad practices’, it dubs the online company as ‘at the heart of a failed system that drives the inequality, climate breakdown and democratic decay that scar our age”.
According to The Independent, the letter came after Amazon workers across 15 different countries held protests on Black Friday, November 27, where they campaigned for better pay and improved working conditions.
After the opening statement, politicians demanded 25 things which they described as ‘common demands’.
The five key points asked for are to improve the workplace, to respect workers’ universal rights, to provide job security, to operate sustainably, and to pay back society. These points are explained further into how the politicians want these things to be achieved.
In a recent report conducted by Amnesty International, they found out that Amazon had has used surveillance technologies to track its workers and had not taken enough steps to protect workers.
In addition, Amazon’s Global Security Operations Center was found to be receiving updates on labor-organizing activities at the warehouse.
Amazon responded to these claims, saying: ‘Like any other responsible business, we maintain a level of security within our operations to help keep our employees, buildings, and inventory safe.’
Regarding Amazon’s carbon footprint, Bezos pledged $10 million last month towards fighting climate change. The first round of funding saw $791 million donated to 16 organizations which Bezos described as ‘just the beginning of my $10 billion commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and others’.