[US] Amazon to collect sales tax in more states

[melsig]

Uh, I'm honestly not sure where to put this, but since we often take advantage of Amazon deals for lack of tax, maybe here? I don't know if forum member are generally aware of this or not, but apparently Amazon is expanding its warehouses and distribution centers into more states, which of course will mean collection of state taxes for people who ship to those states, namely CA, PA, NJ, VA, IN, NV, TN, SC:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/get-ready ... mazon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[nkx1]

I live in CA, in which Amazon will begin collecting tax in September. I sure am going to miss tax-free shopping. Oh well, it seems all good things come to an end.

I have no clue why Amazon supports Federal legislation to charge taxes from its customers. The bottom line it that they'll lose business as a result. For instance, I am certain I will buy less Lego from them after September.

On a side note, I'm curious if I'll be charged tax when buying from Amazon.uk, Amazon.fr, etc? I guess I'll find out after September!

[gmpirate]

Yep, will definitely be buying a lot less from them. Increased my discount threshold anyway :(

[gmpirate]

If you are a reseller with a valid resale license, it looks like you can be exempted through Amazon.

[ncbarrett]

of course, in most states you have to report tax free purchases and get taxed on them, so it was never really "tax free" anyways.

[lordharrier]

of course, in most states you have to report tax free purchases and get taxed on them, so it was never really "tax free" anyways.

Here's hoping that no one starts a debate on reporting vs non reporting.

Luckily for me, I've always found the no-sales tax an added bonus to the free shipping I get with Amazon Prime. Now that I have a Lego store literally 8 minutes away from me that charges 3% sales tax, it really isn't a big deal either way.

What I like about Amazon are the "price matching" they do which gets us nice discounts and the Gold Box deals where you can typically see 5, 15% or more discounts on items you typically buy. So if you buy Lego, you begin to see Gold box deals on Lego.

[Zeya]

of course, in most states you have to report tax free purchases and get taxed on them, so it was never really "tax free" anyways.

+1

I also want to point out that Amazon purchases have never been "no sales tax" the way that people really use that term. (Except if you live in a state devoid of sales tax entirely.) Essentially every state has a law about paying a "use tax" on interstate purchases that is equal to the state sales tax you would otherwise be paying.

You're supposed to keep track of your Amazon purchases and pay the state that use tax when April comes around. If you don't, you're committing tax evasion. Plain and simple. That being said, yours truly may or may not be actively committing tax evasion all the time.

[anakinisvader]

of course, in most states you have to report tax free purchases and get taxed on them, so it was never really "tax free" anyways.

+1

I also want to point out that Amazon purchases have never been "no sales tax" the way that people really use that term. (Except if you live in a state devoid of sales tax entirely.) Essentially every state has a law about paying a "use tax" on interstate purchases that is equal to the state sales tax you would otherwise be paying.

You're supposed to keep track of your Amazon purchases and pay the state that use tax when April comes around. If you don't, you're committing tax evasion. Plain and simple. That being said, yours truly may or may not be actively committing tax evasion all the time.

No whistle, no foul!!!!

[Bob-n-Crew]

If you are a reseller with a valid resale license, it looks like you can be exempted through Amazon.

If you're in WA state, be cautious - even small time business folks like us have already been audited in the past few years. They were willing to line-by-line _everything_ for several years (Lucky for us, over a three-year period, we only had a few hundred $ we couldn't show correct use of exemption (and those were even legitimate! 8) ).

As a side note, where we got stung: operations claiming "we'll pay the sales tax for you!" (used to be somewhat common on state border cities like us)... if no amount appears in the sales tax entry area, then subtracted out AFTER the total shows, the state disallows this (and you'll have to pay use tax on it).

Sorry to hear the rest of the US is starting to join us in WA (always have paid tax on Amazon purchases - yippee [/sarcasm off].

Enjoy - Bob (and crew)

[beartrapper25]

Amazon's big reason to begin paying sales tax (IMO) is so that they can open more distribution points, reduce shipping times and their costs associated with it, but also expand to same day shipping. If they can offer same day shipping its going to really crush smaller retailers across the entire range of goods.

By opening up more distribution centers they'll also be creating a bunch of new jobs, hopefully rehiring the folks they laid off at the begining of this tax debate. IIRC they're planing to open a new warehouse in the Bay Area, and in Los Angeles pretty quickly, and something like 6-8 new warehouses in CA soon.

[Sinfanti]

Amazon's big reason to begin paying sales tax (IMO) is so that they can open more distribution points

Not sure I agree with you on that. When Amazon opens a distribution center they do it under a different company name. They claim that this technically maintains the parent company as not having a physical presence in that state and they get around charging the sales tax. This is the story in Arizona. States allow this setup initially because they are eager to get the jobs related to those new distributions centers. But later when the state governments are going broke it's hard for them to keep overlooking the ginormous tax loophole that Amazon is exploiting. I would expect more states to start charging sales tax on online purchases. The states' budgets are just hurting too bad to keep letting all that revenue slip away.

[slacker]

of course, in most states you have to report tax free purchases and get taxed on them, so it was never really "tax free" anyways.

+1

I also want to point out that Amazon purchases have never been "no sales tax" the way that people really use that term. (Except if you live in a state devoid of sales tax entirely.) Essentially every state has a law about paying a "use tax" on interstate purchases that is equal to the state sales tax you would otherwise be paying.

You're supposed to keep track of your Amazon purchases and pay the state that use tax when April comes around. If you don't, you're committing tax evasion. Plain and simple. That being said, yours truly may or may not be actively committing tax evasion all the time.

No whistle, no foul!!!!

If the States are really broke, they will come after you. My co-worker from NJ bought a camera from NY B&H. No tax because he's from out of states. A few years later, NJ came after him for taxes. On top of that, he needed to pay interest. Again, depends on the state.

I'm in NY so I don't shop amazon since I have to pay tax and shipping.