Paying Sales Tax on Amazon
Starting 12:01am today, Amazon (NASD:AMZN) is forced to collect and remit sales tax from buyers in New York State.
I previously blogged about how ridiculous this affiliate tax is and how NYS should repeal it. If we, as a society, want to enforce sales tax on the Internet, we should do it on a national level (by Congress) and not use some arbitrary data point, such as suggesting an affiliate program should constitute a tax nexus. Amazon and other eCommerce sites aren't using the local services that sales taxes are supposed to fund.
The tax won't stop me from using Amazon - I probably order from Amazon at least 5-6 times per month, and it's the excellent service and competitive pricing that keeps me coming back. But seeing that sales tax line item during checkout will annoy me each time I see it. Overstock has filed a lawsuit challenging the law, as has Amazon, so let's hope they're successful in getting this thrown out.
I previously blogged about how ridiculous this affiliate tax is and how NYS should repeal it. If we, as a society, want to enforce sales tax on the Internet, we should do it on a national level (by Congress) and not use some arbitrary data point, such as suggesting an affiliate program should constitute a tax nexus. Amazon and other eCommerce sites aren't using the local services that sales taxes are supposed to fund.
The tax won't stop me from using Amazon - I probably order from Amazon at least 5-6 times per month, and it's the excellent service and competitive pricing that keeps me coming back. But seeing that sales tax line item during checkout will annoy me each time I see it. Overstock has filed a lawsuit challenging the law, as has Amazon, so let's hope they're successful in getting this thrown out.
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