Biden’s ‘American Jobs Plan’ infrastructure proposal is a $2 trillion spending plan in which less than $750 billion actually “fits even a broad definition of infrastructure”.
Republicans widely criticized the bill as a political spending plan rather than a sensible infrastructure spending plan: “It would spend more money just on electric cars than on America’s roads, bridges, ports, airports, and waterways combined”, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky pointed out.
Of the $2 trillion plan, only about 6% is intended for physical infrastructure in dire need of repair and replacement, such as bridges, highways, roads, and main streets.
The bill includes a $174 billion spending plan for electric vehicles, $35 billion for R&D on climate change, among others.
The proposal also includes a corporate tax rate hike from 21% to 28%. The increase would also bring up the global minimum tax rate on U.S. companies from 13% to 21%.
“We support the Biden Administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported infrastructure in the past and it’s the right time to work together to make this happen,” Bezos wrote in a statement.
Bezos added: “We recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides — both on the specifics of what’s included as well as how it gets paid for (we’re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate). We look forward to Congress and the Administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution that maintains or enhances U.S. competitiveness.”
The tax-rate hike would likely not affect giants like Amazon who possess a strong financial and accounting apparatus to avoid paying the prevalent tax rate. In 2019, Amazon paid a 1.2% tax rate on $13,285,000,000 in profit.
It would, however, push small and medium businesses, which for the most part cannot evade taxes legally, towards difficult decisions and lesser competitivity.
Amazon has largely benefited from the worldwide lockdowns of the coronavirus and recorded massives sales in 2020.
In November 2020, Margrethe Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner announced formal antitrust charges against Amazon. The company is facing numerous regulatory challenges in different jurisdictions over its employee working conditions and monopolistic practices.
