London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 22, 2026

Democrats' new minimum tax would target Facebook, Amazon, analysis shows

Democrats' new minimum tax would target Facebook, Amazon, analysis shows

At least 70 of the largest companies in the U.S. could see higher tax bills under a new minimum levy that President Biden has endorsed in order to help fund his sweeping Build Back Better plan.

A new analysis conducted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. – who proposed the tax alongside Sens. Angus King, I-Maine and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. – shows which companies could face steeper taxes under the proposed minimum tax on book income.

The tax, which would impose a 15% minimum on corporations based on profits they publicly report on their financial statements to shareholders even if they had zero federal tax liability, would only apply to companies that reported more than $1 billion in income for three straight years.

An employee uses a laptop computer while packages move along a conveyor belt at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Hyderabad, India, on Sept. 7, 2017.


The report from Warren found that the tax would force companies, including Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Bank of America, Google and Verizon, to pay more to the U.S. government. The Congressional Budget Office determined recently that the tax would generate about $319 billion over the next decade, which would go toward paying for Biden's sweeping social spending and climate change plan.

Her analysis used publicly available data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for publicly traded companies in the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 to calculate how much each business earned in annual profits, how much they paid in income tax and how much they would pay under the proposed 15% rate.

It shows the minimum would generate up to $22 billion in one year alone from 70 of the biggest publicly traded companies in the U.S.

For instance, Warren's report shows that Amazon was able to reduce its tax rate to 11.5% – rather than 21% – in 2020. By doing so, the company was able to reduce its tax liability by roughly $830 million. But if there had been a 15% minimum book tax in place, Amazon would have paid an additional $836 million in federal and foreign income taxes.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2020, in Washington.


Facebook – which paid $4.5 billion in taxes last year – would have paid an additional $469 million under the Democrats' proposal. T-Mobile, which paid nothing in federal taxes last year, would have owed $537 million.

"Billionaire corporations have gotten a free ride in America for too long. It’s time to stop letting giant corporations cheat the system – they should pay taxes just like everyone else," Warren said in a statement. "My Corporate Profits Minimum Tax would help put an end to tax-rigging schemes and raise billions in revenue so we can make real investments in American families."

Critics of the tax have raised concerns that it will complicate financial reporting for big companies while giving the Financial Accounting Standards Board, an independent organization that sets accounting rules, too much power over the U.S. tax base.

"The potential politicization of the FASB will likely lead to lower-quality financial accounting standards and lower-quality financial accounting earnings," said a letter to Democrats signed by more than 260 accounting academics.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Government Injects One Hundred and Forty Million Pounds to Expand Urgent Care Ahead of Winter Crisis
Department of Health Warns Further Pay Rises Will Derail National Health Service Waiting List Targets
Major Environmental Emergency Declared in South Wales Following Aerospace Kerosene Spill
Tank Barrel Production Returns to Britain as Defence Contractors Accelerate Domestic Rearmament
Government Approves Controversial Jackdaw Gasfield Development in the North Sea
National Health Service Maternity Safety Review Condemned Over Flawed Artificial Intelligence Integration
Dozens of United Kingdom Government Services Taken Offline Amid Critical Software Vulnerability
Barclays Announces Five Thousand Job Cuts Citing Artificial Intelligence Productivity Gains
Treasury Relaxes Post-Financial Crisis Accountability Rules for City of London Executives
United Kingdom Government Issues Unprecedented Guidance Urging Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies
United Kingdom Consumer Inflation Accelerates to Eleven-Month High Driven by Transport Costs
United Kingdom Public Sector Net Debt Breaches Three Trillion Pounds Ahead of Autumn Budget
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Commits Fifty Million Pounds to Establish Regional Artificial Intelligence Innovation Clusters
Ofgem Directs Major Energy Suppliers to Expand Vulnerable Household Support Funds Ahead of Winter Heating Season
Home Office and National Police Chiefs Council Unveil New Intelligence-Led Strategy to Tackle Organised Immigration Crime Networks
First Minister John Swinney Secures Scottish Parliament Approval for Comprehensive Climate and Green Energy Infrastructure Strategy
National Health Service England and Trades Union Congress Finalize Agreement on Emergency Winter Staffing and Pay Frameworks
HM Treasury and Department for Business and Trade Announce Multi-Billion-Pound Sovereign Investment Pact to Spur Regional Advanced Manufacturing
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Signals Potential for Faster Interest Rate Cuts as Domestic Inflation Pressures Ease Below Forecasts
Parliamentary Inquiry Highlights Urgent Need to Address Housing Shortage as Scottish Completions Hit Eleven-Year Low
United Kingdom and Singapore Sign Comprehensive Financial Agreement to Deepen Digital and Sustainable Market Ties
Greggs Announces Plan to Close Four Manufacturing Facilities and Cut Seven Hundred and Forty Jobs
International Monetary Fund Raises United Kingdom Economic Growth Forecast While Warning of Inflationary Pressures
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs Onto Gas to Lower Household Bills
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
Ministry of Defence Prepares Heat Pump Subsidy Cuts to Fund Urgent Military Modernization
British and European Union Officials Schedule Long-Awaited Bilateral Leaders Summit for November Twentieth
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Urges Strict Fiscal Credibility to Protect British Bond Markets
United Kingdom Inflation Rises to Three Point One Percent Driven by Escalating Fuel Costs
Profit Warnings Among London-Listed Companies Reach Two-Year High Amid Global Energy Shocks
Chancellor John Healey Signals Targeted Tax Changes on Banks and London Corporate Offices Ahead of Budget
British Government Reallocates Twenty-Five Per Cent of International Climate Finance to Global Biodiversity Projects
Initial British Carbon Border Taxes Set to Undercut Parallel European Union Tariffs on Industrial Imports
Whitehall Prepares National Zero-Interest Loan Initiative to Accelerate Domestic Heat Pump and Solar Adoption
European Union Offers British Automakers Access to Hybrid Vehicle Trade Protections Subject to Strict Regulatory Alignment
British Probation Officers Threaten Widespread Industrial Action After Rejecting Five Per Cent Government Pay Offer
Microsoft Abandons Major British Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Citing Severe National Grid Power Constraints
United Kingdom Inflation Accelerates to Three Point Four Per Cent Ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Inaugural Autumn Budget
Surging Cloned Number Plates Severely Complicate Traffic Enforcement and Police Investigations
Mounting Opposition Challenges Planned Rollout of Autonomous Taxis Across London
Influential Think Tank Urges Rejoining European Union to Navigate Geopolitical Crises
Government Review Recommends Slashing Benefits to Fund Youth Employment Initiatives
×