Trump takes aim at Amazon again

Despite the White House insisting that there are no plans to act against Amazon imminently, the US president on Thursday reiterated his stance that the online retailer had an unfair advantage over its brick-and-mortar competitors — and didn't pay its fair share in tax.

Read more: Amazon opens brick-and-mortar bookstore

While Donald Trump has long argued for changes in how purchases from third-party Amazon vendors are taxed, his latest comments come a day after reports surfaced that Trump had discussed anti-trust laws to rein in the company, which instantly wiped €24 billion ($30 billion) — 4.4 percent — off the company's value.

"I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state and local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the US), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business," Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos is the world's richest man, has fought for years against internet sales tax. And while the US Postal Service has lost money for years, online shopping has led to growth in its package delivery business.

'Tax parity'

In February, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the House's tax-writing committee that Trump "feels strongly" that the government should allow sales taxes on purchases made over the internet.

Trump, it is understood, wants "tax parity" between online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores. Amazon has paid state sales taxes since last April, but it is argued that the online retail giant still holds an advantage because there is no internet sales tax.

mds/hg (Reuters, AFP)