2016 US.Presidential election update:Donald Trump’s antitrust attack on Jeff Bezos doesn’t make much sense
Donald Trump thinks The Washington Post treats him unfairly. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee says the same about the media, in general, but
he singled out the newspaper Thursday night because of The Post's ongoing book project examining his life and career.
Trump told Fox News's Sean Hannity that the book is part of an elaborate plan by Post owner Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The plan goes like this, according to Trump: Bezos bought The Post for “practically nothing” ($250 million) and is using the paper to keep Trump out of the White House because Amazon has “a huge antitrust problem,” and Bezos “thinks I would go after him for antitrust.”
Post executive editor Martin Baron said Bezos has engaged in no such plotting: “As the individual who oversees The Washington Post’s news staff, I can say categorically that I have received no instructions from Jeff Bezos regarding our coverage of the presidential campaign — or, for that matter, any other subject. The Post has a long tradition of publishing thorough examinations of the major party nominees for president. The decision to write a book on Donald Trump came entirely from the newsroom.”
Trump first attacked Bezos in December, alleging that The Post — which Bezos owns through an investment firm that is separate from Amazon — somehow serves as a "tax shelter" for the technology giant. Trump's theory seems to be that Amazon could lower its tax obligation by claiming a deduction for The Post. But Amazon doesn't own The Post; Nash Holdings, Bezos's private investment company does. The two entities are taxed separately. The Post's business performance, therefore, does not affect Amazon's taxes.
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by@JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.
The @washingtonpost loses money (a deduction) and gives owner @JeffBezos power to screw public on low taxation of@Amazon! Big tax shelter
If @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag. The @washingtonpostscam is saving it!
What's more, Amazon has lobbied in favor of online sales taxes. That might seem counter-intuitive, and competitors such as eBay have taken the opposite position. But one motivation, as NPR's "Planet Money" explained in 2013, could be that having to collect sales taxes — which vary, state to state — is a hassle that might discourage start-ups from trying to disrupt the online retail marketplace, in which Amazon is a major player.
Bezos, an infrequent Twitter user, responded to Trump's initial charges in December by offering to send him to outer space.
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