Trump to Go After Amazon With Antitrust and Tax Changes

Following the decline in tech stocks over the past month, Amazon shares recently lost more than 7% during the trading session on Wednesday after reports revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump intends or plans to go after Amazon.com Inc due to its growing plans of expanding outside the United States.

Trump Gripe With Amazon

The said reports stated of Trump’s plans and obsession of going after the e-commerce giant due to its growing influence and operations not just in the United States but also outside the country. Reports have also stated that Trump plans to go after the company due to the danger it poses to small retailer companies in the country.

Possible actions which may be a result of Trump’s so-called plans may include an antitrust or competition law being imposed. A different tax law may also be implemented for Amazon due to Trump’s fears of the company putting small retail and companies out of business. Trump’s potential plans of changing Amazon’s tax treatment pushed Amazon shares lower during the trading session on Wednesday.

Trump also expressed protests against Amazon during his election due to the company’s contract with the U.S. Postal service for its deliveries claiming that Amazon is not being charged enough for its deliveries as well as its sales tax policies which he has openly criticized before.

Trump vows to go after Amazon.com Inc

The decline in the stock of the American company erased as much as $53 billion from the company’s market value. Prior to the decline, Amazon shares were up by as much as 70% during the past twelve months due to the overall upbeat outlook on the company’s growth and stock.

White House representatives have stated that these reports are connected to Trump’s previous comments regarding Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post which he stated as a way for the Amazon head to communicate his business interest to the public. The Washington Post was also called “fake news” by the U.S. President previously.

Despite the huge slump in the shares of the company, Amazon shares previously suffered after Facebook shares pulled most tech shares earlier during the month when the company admitted user data being obtained by a consulting agency in the United Kingdom. This led to the company facing damages and pulling the Nasdaq composite index lower carrying other stocks with it. Due to this, most Amazon investors have prepared to selloff a number of Amazon stocks which softened the blow of Trump’s recent comments to the market value of the company.

Read more: Amazon Laying Off Hundreds of Seattle Jobs

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