Amazon.com Inc (AMZN)

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Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett, was quick to respond. He attached an article to his post, reminding how Amazon managed to avoid paying a dime in taxes last year.

Retail giants and fierce competitors, Amazon and Walmart, traded barbs after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos called on retailers to increase workers’ minimum hourly wages. Walmart was quick to gently remind Amazon of its tax avoidance.

In his annual letter to shareholders Bezos, still the richest person in the world thanks to his almost trillion-dollar-valued company, boasted about Amazon’s employee benefits and challenged other firms to follow its lead or beat it.

“Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you are!) to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage,” the billionaire wrote. “Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us.”