The US Securities and Exchange Commission supports investors in the Amazon tax range.

The top US financial regulator has rejected the technology group’s move to block shareholders’ votes on greater transparency, increasing pressure on Amazon to be more open about its global tax issues.

Investors and regulators have been accused of being “out of step” after trying to cancel a campaign to share more information about where and how the ecommerce powerhouse pays taxes.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in favor of pressuring shareholders for a vote on the disclosure, declined Amazon’s request for permission to remove it from its annual meeting.

This is the second time that the authority has endorsed a shareholder proposal on tax after a challenge by a company. In a letter to Amazon’s attorneys, the company said it “could not agree” with their decision that the business could close the vote.

Amazon, the world’s largest retailer by market value, is a $ 1.6 trillion business founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. It has long been questioned about its taxes. It paid আয় 2.3 billion in federal income tax to the United States last year, but does not provide the same level of information in other countries. It paid 2 492 million in taxes to Britain in 2020, equivalent to about 2.3 per cent of the .6 20.63 billion in revenue generated in the country.

The US Watchdog ruling sets a course for international investors, including a victory for investors, including the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, which called on Amazon to disclose details of the breakdown of funds at home and abroad. This will bring it in line with the new standards of the Global Reporting Initiative on Taxation.

Amazon argued that it could drop the offer on the basis of taxes related to its “normal business” operations. The agency has already provided “extensive and detailed” tax information in the United States, citing its lawyers, and has reported total payments in Italy, France, Spain and Britain.

However, the regulator denied his request. “In our view, the proposal goes beyond general business issues,” it wrote this week. The response was first reported by the Financial Times.

Amazon declined to comment on the ruling. The company suggested that it would be unrealistic for shareholders to have direct oversight over matters related to its tax payments.

Katie Hepworth of Pirc, a shareholder support advisory service, says companies are moving to reform the global tax system to ensure a “fair contribution” to the market in which companies operate. “Amazon has once again shown itself beyond the expectations of investors and regulators when it comes to corporate tax practices,” he said.

Gerald Cooney, vice-chairman of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, which submitted the proposal to the OIP Trust, welcomed the “great victory for stewardship and good governance”.