amazon collects sales tax in 45 states.
amazon collects sales tax in 45 states.
how many states does amazon collect sales tax?
45
proponents of forcing amazon.com to collect sales tax—at least in states where it maintains a physical presence—argue the corporation wields an anti-competitive advantage over storefront businesses forced to collect sales tax. tax opponents respond to this argument by pointing out that individual states could make storefront businesses more competitive by lowering or entirely eliminating sales tax. amazon is under increasing legal and political pressure from state governments, traditional retailers and other groups because of its refusal to collect sales tax in 41 of the 45 states with a statewide sales tax (as of march 2017). those states include several where amazon has a clear physical presence via distribution centers and wholly owned subsidiaries.
amazon tax
not all states listed below have instituted amazon laws. state responses have varied widely. in many cases, amazon has started collecting sales taxes because they have opened up a fulfillment center or some other physical presence in the state. in other cases, states have entered into agreements with amazon to collect sales taxes, but formal laws have not been passed. finally, some states have passed laws that require out-of-state retailers to either collect sales tax or notify buyers that they are responsible for reporting their owed sales tax to state tax authorities. during the first wave of "amazon laws", many states determined that if an affiliate or other entity in the state received compensation for referrals to an online retailer, then that constituted a nexus in the state and hence retailers were liable for collecting sales taxes. in many cases, after these laws were passed, amazon shut down its affiliate program in those states and was able to avoid collecting sales taxes. other states (such as new york) took stricter stances and required online retailers to collect sales taxes on all sales and shipments to residents of their states whether or not the retailer had a physical presence in the state. finally, many agreements and laws require amazon and other online retailers to only collect state sales tax, not local sales taxes.
amazon tax