Amazon says it "strongly supports" sales tax bill

Amazon has done quite a flip-flop when it comes to legislation requiring the online retailer to collect sales tax on purchases. The company recently made a statement in support of the new Senate bill titled The Marketplace Fairness Act.

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If passed the bill, introduced by Senators Enzi, Durbin, and Alexander, would allow states to force out of state retailers to collect sales tax and remit that money back to the state. Currently if a retailer has a physical location (warehouse, store front, etc) in a state, they are required to collect sales tax for online purchases in that state. No physical location means no sales tax collected.

Amazon put out a press release on Wednesday stating their support of the new bill. The release read,

"Amazon strongly supports enactment of the Enzi-Durbin-Alexander bill and will work with Congress, retailers, and the states to get this bi-partisan legislation passed," said Paul Misener, Amazon vice president, global public policy. "It's a win-win resolution - and as analysts have noted, Amazon offers customers the best prices with or without sales tax."

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Just a few months ago Amazon was rallying against states that were attempting to get out of state retailers to collect sales tax. When California tried to force Amazon to collect sales tax by claiming their affiliates constituted a physical location in the state, Amazon slammed lawmakers saying,

"We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors. Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that we must take this action."

After making that statement Amazon went on to shut down California affiliates to keep themselves from having to enforce sales tax in that state.

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Why Amazon is suddenly okay with being forced to collect sales tax under the language of this new bill remains to be seen. The statement released by the company doesn't really get to why they are supporting it. If Amazon started collecting sales tax would you take your purchases elsewhere?

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