‘Silicon Six’ US tech firms accused of avoiding over $278bn in corporation taxes in last decade

15 April 2025, 02:06 | Updated: 15 April 2025, 10:04

The ‘Silicon Six’, which includes Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft have been accused of avoiding more than $278bn (£211bn) in US corporation taxes in the last 10 years.

According to new analysis, the firms paid an average of 18.8% in national and federal corporation tax combined, compared with an average of 29.7% for US tech firms.

The huge tech firms raked in $11tn in revenue and $2.5tn of profits during the same period.

The analysis by the Fair Tax Foundation (FTF) said the companies had ‘hardwired’ tax avoidance into their business models.

The firms had also inflated their stated tax payments by $82bn by including eventualities in which they did not expect to pay any tax, according to the report which was first reported by the Guardian.

The firms had to pay one-off tax payments in the US for their historical tax avoidance, which, if they were excluded, would bring their average tax contributions down to 16.6%, the report claims.

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Paul Monaghan, the chief executive of the FTF, told the Guardian: “Our analysis would indicate that tax avoidance continues to be hardwired into corporate structures. The Silicon Six’s corporate income tax contributions are, in percentage terms, way below what sectors such as banking and energy are paying in many parts of the world.”

Monaghan said the firms employed “aggressive tax practices” such as contingency tax inclusions, as the companies also wielded “enormous political influence as well as economic power”, spending millions of dollars on lobbying the US government for their benefit.

A number of the CEO’s of these tech firms, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg attended Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, signalling their close ties with the new government.

More recently, the UK has reportedly been negotiating significant tax cuts or exemptions for these firms in talks with the US to secure lower tariffs on UK exports to the country.

Netflix was the worst offender, according to the report, showing they only paid 14.7% in taxes compared to their profits.

By the same metric, Microsoft paid 20.4%, Meta paid 15.4%, Apple paid 18.4% in taxes and Amazon paid 19.6%.

However, Amazon was singled out as having the worst tax policies by FTF, who said the company engages in ‘obvious profit shifting’, shifting a large amount of its UK taxable income to low-tax Luxembourg.

An Amazon spokesperson told LBC: "The suggestions in this report are extremely misleading. Tax is paid on profit not revenue.

"Amazon is primarily a retailer where profit margins are low, so comparisons to technology companies with much higher operating profit margins are deeply flawed.

"Governments write the tax laws and Amazon is doing the very thing these laws encourage companies to do — paying all taxes due while also investing billions in creating jobs and infrastructure.

"Since 2010, we have invested more than $1.2 trillion in the U.S. and over €250 billion in Europe. Coupled with low margins, this investment will naturally result in a lower cash tax rate, particularly when measured as a percentage of revenue."

A Netflix spokesperson said: "Governments determine tax rules and rates — and companies comply with them. Netflix complies with the relevant tax rules and regulations in every country in which we operate."

A Meta spokesperson said: "We follow international and local tax rules, ensuring that we pay all taxes required in each of the countries where we operate."

Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft have all been approached for comment.

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It comes as Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg gave evidence in a historic antitrust trial that could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp.

The Federal Trade Commission called Mr Zuckerberg as its first witness as it seeks to prove that Meta acquired Instagram and WhatsApp - startups it bought more than a decade ago - to preserve its monopoly in the social networking space.

In opening statements, FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson said Meta has used its position to generate enormous profits even as consumer satisfaction has dropped.

He said Meta was "erecting a moat" to protect its interests by buying the two startups because the company feared they were a threat to Meta's dominance.

Mr Zuckerberg and other key Meta witnesses will give evidence throughout the trial.

"We're going to give them their chance to tell their side of the story," Mr Matheson said.

Mark Hansen, a lawyer for Meta, said the FTC was making a "grab bag" of arguments that were wrong. He said the firm has plenty of competition and has made improvements to the startups it acquired.

"This lawsuit, in summary, is misguided," he said, adding: "Any way you look at it, consumers have been the big winners."

The trial will be the first big test of President Donald Trump's Federal Trade Commission's ability to challenge Big Tech.

The lawsuit was filed against Meta - then called Facebook - in 2020, during Mr Trump's first term as president. It claims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market.

Meta's fate will be decided by US District Judge James Boasberg, who late last year denied the firm's request for a summary judgment and ruled that the case must go to trial.