Recently, Amazon quite rightly received adverse publicity for their ridiculously low tax exposure following a threefold rise in profit. Morally, this might be unfair but legally, Amazon have done nothing wrong.
If you want to adopt the moral high ground and support the high street, cease shopping online at Amazon. However, in my opinion, the moral finger of blame should be firmly directed towards the government and their persistent bludgeoning of traditional business via Business Rates. Retail Week published a very sobering statistic this week – In the latest revaluation House of Fraser endured a 57% increase in the Rateable Value of their flagship store on Oxford Street delivering a rate burden from a single store that is greater than Amazon’s entire tax contribution. That’s just simply wrong. Until the government addresses such inequalities, traditional retailers will struggle to compete and the High Street will continue to decline.