The turnover at Amazon UK soared past the £1bn mark in 2016, with the company reporting revenues of £19.5bn, however its corporation tax payments halved to £7.4m, as reported on Companies House.

 Corporation tax is paid on the profits a company makes and Amazon’s operating profit dropped by over half in 2016 to £25.6m after it invested in various elements within the company.

Giles Clifton, head of corporate affairs at the Booksellers Association, said: ‘These latest figures from Amazon confirm what has become an annual event, an annual ground hog day. This is, quite simply, that Amazon is able to pay very low rates of tax in the UK under the present system. This gives Amazon – possessed of a huge market share and all the associated commercial bargaining power that goes with it – a further, substantial, advantage over its competitors in the UK book trade.

It is a reminder that the current system of taxation is out of date and discredited. It is simply wrong that the current system is so heavily weighted against bricks and mortar retailers, who are paying £2.41 in Business Rates for every £1 paid in Corporation Tax. We already know that the Waterstone’s on Bedford High Street is paying seventeen times more in Business Rates than Amazon. This deeply unfair system must end.’

Amazon also currently receives a £1.1m grant from the UK government which is used to open warehouses.

Clifton continued: ‘We are grateful to all those who recognise it is unfair for great British booksellers to be constantly forced to compete with one hand tied behind their backs. We demand fair taxation for our members and a level-playing field for British booksellers. The government needs to address this issue now.’

Amazon says that it pays all the tax that is required in the UK. An Amazon spokesperson said: ‘Amazon pays all the taxes that are required in every country where we operate.’