The Mind of Alex

Amazon hates paying taxes, almost as much as South Carolina. It most especially hates paying taxes to foreign governments, apparently, just ask the Japanese. Amazon had quite a scheme going on, selling items in Japan, and booking the sales and taxes Stateside. That might even be legal, but Japan is having non of it. That amount of money in a tax revenue recession beckons like a five dollar hooker to a newly shore-side sailor.

Predictably, Amazon finds these charges to be bollocks, and does not want to have to tell its investors that all the Kindle profits for the coming decade just evaporated to finance the Japanese governments budget. TechCrunch points out that Amazon as a whole had operating income of $842 million last year, 10% of that supposedly coming from Japan. We are looking at something close to 140% of a full years profit from Japan, in one swoop.

If you have been reading the news, you have noted that Japan has been getting itself into tax trouble around the States as well. Everyone cross your fingers that Amazon bullies their way through this. Who else will be the savior of reading?