All posts tagged: Amazon.com Inc

Trump says France must scrap tech ‘sales tax’ or face 100% wine tariffs: NY Post

Trump says France must scrap tech ‘sales tax’ or face 100% wine tariffs: NY Post

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump has warned France must scrap a 3% tech “sales tax” or face 100% tariffs on U.S. imports of its wines and champagne, the NY Post reported Monday. The president issued the threat ahead of this week’s G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. “I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France,” Trump told the Post. The digital services tax, approved by French lawmakers in 2019, involves a 3% levy on gross revenues generated in France by large technology companies, including U.S. giants such as Amazon, Meta and Alphabet. Exports to the U.S. make up about one-fifth of the French wine industry’s total global sales, at about $2 billion annually. It is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted France’s wine industry with retaliatory measures. In 2019, the U.S. raised the possibility of imposing hefty charges on tech imports, including wine, in response to the then-new levy, which …

Switzerland population cap vote explained

Switzerland population cap vote explained

Published by Sam Flores

A photo shows a poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and reading “Breaking with Europe now of all times? NO on the SVP-Chaos-Initiative” in Thayngen, northern Switzerland, on June 1, 2026. Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images Switzerland, a wealthy country that has historically embraced free movement and foreign investment, is about to vote on whether to cap its population — and restrict immigration measures to do so. Sunday’s referendum comes after the country’s population increased 10% in the 10 years up to the end of 2025, when it stood at just over 9.1 million. For the first time, the country had more people over 65 than under 20. Net migration and the birth rate fell last year. Relatively low taxation has helped make Switzerland home to global conglomerates like consumer goods giant Nestle, pharmaceutical heavyweight Novartis and other multinational firms in finance, luxury goods and tech. It has one of the world’s highest concentrations of billionaires and a much stronger GDP per capita rate …

Mamdani fires back at Bezos over Queens teacher tax remark

Mamdani fires back at Bezos over Queens teacher tax remark

Published by Sam Flores

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired back on Wednesday at Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder and executive chairman questioned whether raising taxes on billionaires would do anything to help working-class New Yorkers. “You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you,” Bezos said in an interview on CNBC earlier Wednesday. Mamdani responded on X: “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.” Bezos, meanwhile, pushed for tax cuts for low-income Americans. He called for eliminating federal income taxes on the bottom half of earners, telling CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box” that the top 1% of taxpayers pay about 40% of all tax revenue, while the bottom half pay 3%. “I don’t think it should be 3%,” Bezos said. “I think it should be zero.” In 2023, the bottom half of taxpayers had an adjusted gross income of nearly $54,000 in 2023, according to the Tax Foundation, which is funded by conservative interests, citing the most recent IRS statistics. Households earning in the top …

Bezos defends billionaires, hypes AI, praises Trump on CNBC

Bezos defends billionaires, hypes AI, praises Trump on CNBC

Published by Sam Flores

Ultrabillionaire Jeff Bezos on Wednesday hyped artificial intelligence, blamed government meddling for economic woes and broadly defended himself and his megarich peers in an exclusive interview with CNBC. But the Amazon and Blue Origin founder, in a wide-ranging interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, initially struck a populist tone, at times sounding more like some progressive Democrats than one of the most successful capitalists in history. “It’s kind of a tale of two economies,” Bezos told Sorkin at the start of the interview when asked about growing criticism toward billionaires. “You have a bunch of people in this country who are doing really well, but you also have a bunch of people in this country who are struggling.” He quickly backed a tax policy idea that echoes what some Democrats have proposed to court working-class voters: Eliminating income taxes for the bottom half of U.S. earners. “A nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes,” Bezos said. “Does that really make sense?” Bezos’ alliance with the left didn’t …

Trump was big on tech stocks in early 2026, filings show

Trump was big on tech stocks in early 2026, filings show

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks during a law enforcement leaders dinner celebrating the start of National Police Week in the Rose Garden at The White House in Washington, May 11, 2026. Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Donald Trump reported thousands of financial transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars — including large purchases and sales of tech giants Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta — in the first three months of 2026, new disclosure forms reveal. Trump’s filings with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics show more than 3,700 transactions, with the total amount for each listed as a range rather than an exact figure. The transactions, which became public on Thursday, are valued at between $220 million and $750 million cumulatively, according to Reuters. Trump’s biggest purchases and sales skewed toward the tech sector, the filings showed. Among three dozen transactions valued between $1 million and $5 million in the first quarter of 2026, Trump bought securities of ServiceNow, Nvidia, Adobe, Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Motorola, Amazon, Texas Instruments and Dell, the filings show. …

AI data center risk for Pennsylvania GOP incumbents

AI data center risk for Pennsylvania GOP incumbents

Published by Sam Flores

A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pennsylvania, Jan. 14, 2025. Ted Shaffrey | AP The AI-driven data center boom in Pennsylvania — which includes a $20 billion investment from Amazon — is leading to political angst in districts in the Keystone State that could help decide control of the U.S. House. The four competitive House races are in the eastern part of the state, where Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is focusing his data center expansion plans. Republicans represent all four districts and are looking to not only hold on to their own seats in November’s election but to retain control of the House, where the party holds a five-seat majority. Political analysts say the data center dynamic could harm incumbents, who will take the brunt of public backlash for unpopular development. All four districts are considered in play by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, which rates every congressional race. The 7th, 8th and 10th Districts are all …

Trump favors companies that don’t seek tariff refund

Trump favors companies that don’t seek tariff refund

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he will gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs he unilaterally imposed, which the Supreme Court later ruled were illegal. Trump’s comment on “Squawk Box” came a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a portal for importers to seek more than $160 billion in potential refunds for the so-called IEEPA tariffs. He was asked about a number of large companies, among them Apple and Amazon, that have not filed requests for refunds for the tariffs they paid, potentially because they are worried about “offending” Trump. Asked if he would find it offensive for them to seek a refund, Trump said, “Brilliant if they don’t do that.” “Actually, if they don’t do that, they’ve got to know me very well,” he said. “I’m very honored by what you just said.” “If they don’t do that, I’ll remember them,” Trump said. Read more CNBC politics coverage The president again complained about the 6-3 Supreme Court decision that voided those tariffs. That ruling, …

Trump admin unveils national AI policy framework to limit state power

Trump admin unveils national AI policy framework to limit state power

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on artificial intelligence at the “Winning the AI Race” Summit in Washington D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025. Kent Nishimura | Reuters The Trump administration on Friday issued a legislative framework for a single national policy on artificial intelligence, aiming to create uniform safety and security guardrails around the nascent technology while preempting states from enacting their own AI rules. The six-pronged outline broadly proposes a slew of regulations on AI products and infrastructure, ranging from implementing new child-safety rules to standardizing the permitting and energy use of AI data centers. It also calls on Congress to address thorny issues surrounding intellectual-property rights and craft rules “preventing AI systems from being used to silence or censor lawful political expression or dissent.” The administration said in an official release that it wants to work with Congress “in the coming months” to convert its framework into a bill that President Donald Trump can sign. The White House wants to codify the framework into law “this year” and believes it can generate bipartisan …

FCC chair Carr slams broadcasters after Trump disputes tanker reports

FCC chair Carr slams broadcasters after Trump disputes tanker reports

Published by Sam Flores

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Jan. 14, 2026. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Saturday blasted broadcasters shortly after President Donald Trump called reports that Iran struck five U.S. tanker planes “fake news.”  In a post on X, Carr also warned that broadcasters will lose their licenses if they don’t “operate in the public interest.”  “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote in the post, which attached Trump’s statement on Truth Social earlier Saturday.  “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news,” Carr added. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that five refueling tankers were struck during an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan air …

Martin Heinrich bill would give tax rebate for tariffs

Martin Heinrich bill would give tax rebate for tariffs

Published by Sam Flores

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch subcommittee, delivers opening remarks during a hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced a bill Thursday to create a new tax rebate for individuals and families hit by the cost of President Donald Trump’s now-defunct “reciprocal tariffs.” The bill, dubbed the “Tariff Refunds for Working Families Act” and shared exclusively with CNBC, is part of the escalating effort by Democrats to capitalize on Trump’s tariff agenda ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Polls indicate the levies have become increasingly unpopular, with economically anxious voters expressing concern about affordability as Democrats vie to rip control of Congress away from Republicans. “The President may call the affordability crisis a ‘hoax,’ but working people feel it every time they pay for groceries or everyday essentials,” Heinrich said in a statement. “This bill will return the money lost to Trump’s tariffs back to the people who …