Amazon will start charging sale taxes in 8 additional states in the next several years, starting with California and Pennsylvania this September.
The online megastore will begin charging taxes in New Jersey and Virginia next year, and in Indiana, Nevada and Tennessee in 2014, followed by South Carolina in January of 2016.
This is a shift in policy for Amazon, which until recently had fought pressure to collect taxes. It is now backing the Marketplace Fairness Act in Congress, which would allow states to collect sales tax from out-of-state businesses, said CNN Money.
About $11.5 billion in tax revenue is lost to the states annually due to online sites’ exemption from collecting sales taxes.
For brick and mortar stores, Amazon’s reversal should help level the playing field.
For consumers, the policy shift might add almost $10 to a $100 purchase on Amazon (depending on where the customer lives in the state).
Amazon already collects sales taxes in Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Washington.
For more see CNN Money here.
Source: CNN Money via Yahoo! Finance
Watch Amazon closely here – they appear to be setting up local distribution facilities in many metropolitan areas so they can attempt same-day delivery. The “instant gratification” customers have enjoyed from brick & mortar retailers might now be available from Amazon in the near future.
Link:
http://mobile.slate.com/articles/business/small_business/2012/07/amazon_same_day_delivery_how_the_e_commerce_giant_will_destroy_local_retail_.html