Jeremy Corbyn accuses Amazon of underpaying tax as US firm celebrates 25th birthday

‘Many Happy Tax Returns’: Labour leader takes swipe at one of world’s most valuable companies

‘This year, pay your fair share of taxes, give your hard-working staff a pay rise and respect workers’ rights,’ Corbyn says

Jeremy Corbyn has written to Jeff Bezos to accuse Amazon of not paying enough tax and underpaying workers.

The Labour Party leader wrote a “birthday card” to the Amazon chief executive – the richest man in the world – on the 25th anniversary of his company’s founding.

Mr Corbyn wrote: “Dear Jeff. Happy Birthday. You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on.

“This year, pay your fair share of taxes, give your hard-working staff a pay rise and respect workers’ rights.

“Many Happy Tax Returns, Jeremy.”

Amazon says it pays the corporation tax that it owes in the UK, primarily via its Luxembourg-based subsidiary.

The company is not required to publish the accounts of its UK branch, meaning it is impossible to scrutinise the amount of tax it pays on profits generated here.

It also has a UK-based logistics arm, Amazon UK Services, which paid £4.6m in corporation tax in 2017 on reported profits of £80m. Britain’s tax rate on corporate profits stands at 19 per cent.

The company changed its corporate structure in 2014 after accusations it had shifted profits to Luxembourg in order to minimise its tax bill.

Labour also took aim at Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt for his proposal to slash tax on corporate profits to just 12.5 per cent after Brexit.

Mr Hunt’s opponent in the race to be next prime minister, Boris Johnson, has also said he wants to cut corporation tax, as well as income tax for the highest earners.

The UK already has one of the lowest corporation tax rates of any major economy, after successive reductions introduced by former chancellor George Osborne.