Profitable Giants Like Amazon Pay $ 0 in Corporate Taxes. Some voters are sick of it.

He was treated for cancer, heart disease and two hernia last year, but was unable to extract the costs, he said. Amazon, meanwhile, made use of a complete package of tax errors. "Amazon doesn't pay taxes, but I pay taxes," William said.

Akron, about an hour west, is rushing better financially. Mayor Daniel Horrigan does not want to confirm or deny it, but Amazon is believed to be the company he has recruited to move into Akron's Rolling Acres Mall, a once thriving mall that closed in 2008, and became a symbol of both the recession and retail disturbances caused by of online shopping.

Amazon would not comment on whether it was planned to open a facility there.

Mr. Horrigan has been working to strengthen the economy of Akron, historically known as Rubber City for its role in tire production. The tire jobs have mostly moved elsewhere.

Goodyear, who made the 60s by paying no federal corporate tax, employs 64,000 people worldwide, but only 3,000 of them remain here, mainly at the company's headquarters. A spokesman said that the company's tax situation in 2018 stems from "historic losses in US operations".

The democratic socialists have close to 100 members in Akron, many of whom are supporters of Mr. Sanders. Those who attended last week met a mother from home who said she had not been able to pay the water bill for a year to a college professor, David Pereplyotchik.

Herr. Pereplyotchik, 37, said he believed the group would come up with a viable alternative to corporate tax and payroll in the US.

"If we fight for something, what version of the thing are we fighting for?" Asked Mr. Pereplyotchik, who teaches philosophy. "It seems like you're just getting them to pay employees more, they're just not hiring employees."

Mr. Robertson, the carpet cleaner, has his own idea: nationalization of the companies. "I think they are forcing them to pay higher alone is ineffective," he said, "and only tax is ineffective."