Amazon short-changing US in billions dollars, Trump insists

An Amazon warehouse in Florence, N.J. Credit Bryan Anselm for The New York Times

Amazon short-changing US in billions dollars, Trump insists

United States President, Donald Trump has insisted that global online warehouse and retail giant, Amazon, is short-changing United States in billions of dollars on the cost of delivery by the United States Postal Services.

New York Times had done a report, puncturing Trump’s claims on improper payment of taxes and delivery costs by Amazon and Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos.

But Trump insisted on Tuesday, saying that Amazon is turning the United States Post Office to delivery boys while not paying the right charges for the delivery.

Trump @realDonaldTrump tweeted: “I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy. Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don’t have a clue (or do they?)!”

New York Times had said it is true the Postal Service has consistently reported net losses for a decade; the last time it reported net income from its operations was the 2006 fiscal year. In the 2017 fiscal year, the agency reported a net loss of $2.7 billion; the previous three years, it incurred losses of nearly twice that amount.

“The beginning of the 2018 fiscal year suggested the organization was not turning its fortunes around. In the first quarter, which included the December holiday season that typically brings its strongest earnings of the year, the Postal Service had a net loss of $540 million.

Those losses cannot be attributed to Amazon shipments alone, however, and the president’s Twitter posts have lacked context. Notably, packages and shipping are areas of growth for the Postal Service that have offset its general shortfalls in revenue”, it said.

It added that Amazon’s stock price dropped in early trading Thursday after the president’s comments. But said Trump’s Twitter post lacked important context about the Postal Service and relied on outdated and incorrect facts regarding Amazon’s taxes. Here is an assessment of the president’s claims.