Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Jeff Bezos New House More Than Amazon Has Paid In '19 Income Tax


Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly paying $165 million for a palatial Beverly Hills mansion, and, according to SEC filings, with that sum the Amazon founder could have footed the entire 2019 federal tax bill his company is planning to pay this year. He’d have $3 million left over, reports Marketwatch.

Bezos purchased the Warner Estate, originally designed in the 1930s for the Warner Bros. president Jack Warner, from music mogul David Geffen, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources described as familiar with the transaction.

Amazon owes more than $1 billion in federal income taxes for 2019, according to SEC filings submitted last month. The online retail pioneer so far has paid $162 million on its 2019 bill, with the remaining $914 million owed in 2019 federal income taxes deferred, the filing noted.

An Amazon representative declined to comment on Bezos’s property purchase or the company’s tax rates but referred to a previous company statement on Amazon’s tax bill.

“We follow all applicable federal and state tax laws, and our U.S. taxes are a reflection of our continued investments, compensation of our employees, and the current tax rules,” the company said in a Jan. 31 blog post.

Meanwhile, Bezos announced Monday he’s created the Bezos Earth Fund, his biggest-ever philanthropic investment, to help counter the effects of climate change, reports the LA Times.

Bezos said he’s starting with $10 billion and will begin to issue grants this summer. “It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations and individuals,” he said in a post on Instagram. “We can save Earth.”

According to The Washington Post, Bezos signed the pledge one day before company employees — members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice — planned to walk off the job in protest, saying the retailer and tech giant needs to do more to reduce its carbon footprint. (Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)

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