Thursday, February 10, 2011

Amazon Ramps Sales Tax Fight

In a move which might affect California's renewed efforts to tax sales on Amazon.com and other similar e-commerce sites, the e-commerce giant is preparing to shut down a distribution center in runs in Dallas, Texas, over a $269M tax bill presented to the firm by the State of Texas. The move is the most dramatic so far by Amazon.com, which has faced tax efforts by Colorado, New York, North Carolina, and other states, and which has not hesitated to drop all affiliates in those states over attempts to make affiliates a tax "nexus" to force taxation on its sales. The move comes just a few short weeks after Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) revived efforts to tax Amazon.com and other Internet retailers, hoping to make up California's budget shortfalls by forcing those retailers to collect sales taxes made by California consumers. Skinner's "Amazon bill" is similar to a legislation which was vetoed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009.