Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump took aim Wednesday at Amazon, claiming the US online giant pays too little in taxes and hurts other retailers.
“I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election,” Trump tweeted.
“Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!”
The comments came a day after a report by the news site Axios that Trump was “obsessed” with Amazon, believing the tech giant fails to pay enough taxes and gets preferential treatment from the US Postal Service.
The report said Trump’s wealthy friends complain that Amazon is killing shopping malls and brick-and-mortar retailers.
Trump has long been at odds with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, a vocal opponent of the Republican in the 2016 election campaign.
Bezos is also the owner of the Washington Post, a frequent target of Trump over its news coverage.
On Tuesday, a White House official declined to comment specifically on the report but commented that the president “has said he’s always looking to create a level playing field for all businesses.”
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