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PRIVACY
Retail & Consumer

South West companies using Amazon rack up £200m in export sales in 2020, report finds

The online retail giant has released a report aiming to highlight the company's economic impact in Britain

A worker prepares packages for delivery at an Amazon warehouse (Image: Getty Images)

South West companies using Amazon to sell goods and services recorded more than £200m of export sales last year, according to a new impact report by the online retail giant.

The platform said around 4,700 small-to-medium-sized businesses in the region were now its "independent selling partners".

According to Amazon, it has invested around £1.4bn in the West Country since 2010, creating 2,400 full and part-time jobs in the region, and 90 apprenticeship roles.

The company claims its investment in the region has led to the production of goods and services that contributed an estimated £1.5bn to the region’s GDP over the period.

The report comes just weeks after the US e-commerce giant defended its contribution to the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ economy as latest accounts on Companies House show the business paid £492m to the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ taxman last year as its sales rose 50% to £20.63bn.

The platform paid just £3.8m more corporation tax in 2020 than in 2019, despite sales rocketing amid the pandemic.

A number of tech companies, which pay tax on profits not sales, have come under fire in recent years for the amount of tax they pay in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ.

“Amazon is passionate about creating jobs, empowering SMEs and supporting the communities where we live and work, said John Boumphrey, º£½ÇÊÓÆµ Country Manager at Amazon.