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As we head to the end of 2019, corporate taxes are the talk in tech town. Given that digital companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Google have different operating models than their traditional counterparts, governments and company representatives are often at odds when it comes to taxation. This has brought the United States and France face to face, as the former has officially stated that the latter's Digital Services Tax is discriminatory against American companies. While we're on the topic of taxes, a report by a British organization uses information from the companies' annual reports to show just how much tax they end up putting in different state kitties.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft & Netflix Have Saved Up $100 Billion In Taxes This Decade Reveals New Report

Research by Fair Tax Mark shows that over the past decade, the six big Silicon Valley tech giants Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) have collectively saved up $100 billion in taxes. This amount reflects the difference between what the companies have listed as tax provisions in their annual reports and the amount that they've handed over to the authorities in the form of cash taxes.

The biggest offender, as reported by CNBC, is Amazon. Jeff Bezos' retail empire has paid $3.4 billion in income taxes over the course of this decade. This amounts to 12.7% of the profit that Amazon earned over this period; a percentage that significantly lower than the 21% corporate tax rate in America.

Amazon claims that since its profit margins are lower, it's bound to pay lesser tax when compared to other companies who earn more profit after costs and expenses have been subtracted. The retailer also cites solid investment figures in Europe to dispel any notion of wrongdoing from its end.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Google are in second and third places respectively, after having paid 10.2% and 15.8% in taxes since 2019. The two companies' foreign tax charges are 5% and 7.1% respectively for the decade. Netflix, Apple and Microsoft paid 15.8%, 17.1% and 16.8% of their profits in taxes. All companies have stressed that their tax payments are fully covered by the law, with Google and Facebook supporting the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in streamlining the international tax process for multinationals.

Fair Tax Mark's report also claims that profits from these companies continually make their way in the safe havens of Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg and Netherlands. When talking bout Amazon, the report states:

"The company is growing its market domination across the globe on the back of revenues that are largely untaxed and can unfairly undercut local businesses that take a more responsible approach".

All in all, while corporations avoiding taxes isn't comforting to hear, it still is not illegal or else we would have seen serious repercussions for the players involved. Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comment section below and stay tuned. We'll keep you updated on the latest.