The large American tech companies, collectively known as the “Silicon Six,” have been criticized for paying $278 billion (£211 billion) less in corporate income tax over the past decade compared to what US companies with similar profits are obligated to pay under the statutory rate. The companies, which include Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple, and Microsoft, have generated a total revenue of $11 trillion and profits of $2.5 trillion during the last 10 years. On average, they paid 18.8% in combined national and federal corporation taxes, which is lower than the 29.7% average for other US companies. According to the Fair Tax Foundation (FTF), these tech giants have built tax avoidance into their business models. If one-off repatriation tax payments related to historical tax avoidance were not included, the average corporate income tax contribution of the six companies would be even lower at 16.1% over the past decade. The organizations also claimed that the companies inflated their stated tax payments by $82 billion by including uncertain tax payments they did not anticipate. The FTF’s chief executive, Paul Monaghan, accused the companies of using aggressive tax practices and having significant political and economic influence, spending millions of dollars on lobbying governments. The report comes at a time when the influence of US tech companies is being highlighted by the attendance of their executives, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, at Donald Trump’s second inauguration. The UK government reportedly offered significant tax cuts to these tech firms in discussions with the US regarding lower tariffs on exported products. The FTF found that a significant portion of the Silicon Six’s overseas revenue was subject to lower corporate tax rates in the US due to a tax break for foreign-derived intangible income. Some of the companies also faced criticism for booking profits in low-tax jurisdictions. Amazon had the lowest tax rate when compared to its profits, followed by Netflix. Amazon’s corporate tax rate was 19.6%, higher than Meta (15.4%) and Apple (18.4%), but lower than Microsoft (20.4%). Amazon defended its actions, stating that it pays all taxes due and invests billions in creating jobs and infrastructure. Each of the remaining companies also received a request for comment on the matter.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/15/silicon-six-accused-of-avoiding-almost-278bn-in-us-corporation-taxes-over-10-years