Amazon paid just £7.4 million in corporation tax last year, despite UK revenues hitting £1.4 billion.
The ecommerce behemoth‘s UK services arm, which includes its warehouse and logistics operations and involves around 16,000 staff members, saw its tax bill more than half from £15.8 million in 2015.
A spokesperson for Amazon stated that it paid all the taxes required in the UK as “corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low given retail is a highly competitive, low margin business and our continued heavy investment”.
Records filed on Companies House revealed Amazon made just £24 million in profits last year, half of that made in 2015, reflecting the amount of tax paid.
Despite this, MPs have responded by calling for a boycott of the retailer. Labour MP Margaret Hodge told The Sun she would urge people to stop using the company.
“It remains outrageous that Amazon are so blasé that they can ignore all the anger that their failure to pay fair tax in this country,” she said.
READ MORE: Amazon‘s profits drop 51% as expansion hits margins
“It is a scandal they are deliberately manipulating the way they do their business for no other purpose than to avoid tax.”
Amazon has received £1.3 million credit from UK authorities which it is able to deduct from future tax bills. This is due to a series of deductions including share awards worth £36 million to managers and staff.
Its total UK revenues, including its retail arm, hit £7 billion last year.
Amazon has yet to reveal the amount of tax its retail arm paid.
Revenue from its retail sales arm are funneled through a controversial separate company in Luxembourg.
In 2015 it promised to stop using the scheme, which diverts sales and profits away from the UK, following a government clampdown.
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