Amazon backs out of lease at heart of tax fight with Seattle

One of Amazon's campuses in Seattle. (Amazon)

Amazon.com Inc, which scrapped a deal this month to open offices in New York after clashing with local politicians, is pulling out of a lease in Seattle that was at the centre of a battle with the city council. 

Last year, as the Seattle City Council was weighing a tax on large employers to fund affordable housing and homeless services, Amazon threatened to sublease its space in Rainier Square, a 37-story tower being built at 411 Union Street where it had taken more than 700,000 square feet, the entire office portion.