Amazon (AMZN  ) disclosed details about its U.S. taxes for 2019 saying its federal income tax for the year was more than $1 billion. According to regulatory filings, Amazon will pay $162 million in federal income taxes for 2019 now, and an additional $900 million over time due to deferrals. It adds up to the $1 billion federal income tax expense.

The disclosures of tax information are due to the assertions by politicians and researchers that Amazon pays nothing in taxes. Amazon was mentioned more than any other during the 2020 Democratic debates with candidates bringing up the tech giant's tax bill. President Donald Trump is also a frequent critic of Amazon for paying "little or no taxes to state and local governments."

"Like most governments that try to encourage economic investment by companies, the U.S. Congress has written a tax code that incentivizes the type of job creation, capital investment, development of technology, and employee ownership that Amazon does because these are critical drivers of a prosperous economy," the company says in its post. "We follow all applicable federal and state tax laws, and our U.S. taxes are a reflection of our continued investments, compensation of our employees, and the current tax rules."

Amazon employs more than 500,000 employees from across the country, and its global workforce is close to reaching 800,000. Amazon estimates its investments have created more than 2 million jobs.

Matthew Gardner, senior fellow for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, who analyzes corporations and their tax avoidance, said Amazon's ability to vastly reduce its corporate income taxes but not the payroll and sales taxes, which fall on workers and consumers, exposes the power of corporate lobbyists in shaping the tax code.

"What Amazon is doing here is using tax breaks that Congress has enacted at the behest of corporate America," he said. "If the American people think that it's a travesty for a company this big to avoid paying virtually all of their income-tax liability, then there is a remedy and it's for Congress to examine these tax breaks and repeal them."