Taxdood has had a good series of posts on the Amazon tax. Amazon.com has negotiated with several states regarding collecting sales tax on purchases made from the online retailer. Amazon will begin to collect sales tax in Texas (beginning July 1st) and Nevada (2014).
Some states have imposed “Amazon” taxes–writing laws that force the online company to collect sales tax in those states. The typical Amazon tax says that affiliates cause Amazon to have nexus to that state. Recent court decisions may make Amazon bolder in fighting the taxes.
This past week a judge in Chicago ruled that Illinois’ Amazon tax was unconstitutional. In Denver, Judge Robert Blackburn ruled Colorado’s Amazon tax unconstitutional because it, “impose[s] an undue burden on interstate commerce…Enforcing a reporting requirement on out-of-state retailers will, by definition, discriminate against the out-of-state retailers by imposing unique burdens on those retailers.” I expect the Colorado Department of Revenue to appeal.
There is the possibility of this case heading to the US Supreme Court in a couple of years, especially if one Appeals Court rules the tax constitutional and another court rules it unconstitutional.
Tags: amazon.com, AmazonTax, Taxdood