Amazon Agrees To Collect State Tax In California
“Amazon and California have reached a deal on sales taxes. The online retailing giant, which doesn’t collect sales taxes in the state has agreed to start collecting them a year from now.
Amazon has long enjoyed a huge advantage by not collecting the tax — like brick-and-mortar stores do. Consumers pay that much less for the same goods.
But California needs the tax revenue, an estimated $200 million annually; and earlier this year, the state enacted a law forcing Amazon to pony up. The company responded by launching a referendum campaign to kill the measure. Some Democratic legislators were incensed, and tried to block Amazon’s move. But Darrell Steinberg, president of the California Senate, says that would have required a legislative supermajority.
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So Steinberg, a Democrat, brought together Amazon, brick-and-mortar retailers and key legislators in both parties to hammer things out.
“Amazon agrees to begin collecting the tax next September unless there is federal legislation that requires all Internet sellers to collect tax,” he said.”