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The VICE Guide to Right Now Podcast

What Amazon's Fight Against Taxes Says About Its Political Power

Seattle tried, and failed, to tax the mega corporation, run by the richest man in the world.
Image: Wikipedia

On today's episode, we look at how Seattle's tax on multi million-dollar companies was repealed just a month after Amazon fought alongside local businesses to put pressure on the local government. The reversal of the tax, which would have forced Amazon to pay the city around $12 million to help the homeless after bringing in a whopping $178 billion last year, shows just how politically powerful Jeff Bezos's behemoth has become.

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Between the Amazon's growth and political influence, and the recent AT&T-Time Warner merger, the US could be giving way to unprecedented corporate monopolies. We talked to VICE reporter Matt Taylor about how this phenomenon could cause problems for local communities if it continues to go unchecked.

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