Related: Tax-free Internet sales may soon be Web relic
Retailers urge Massachusetts to collect taxes from Amazon
You can't say they didn't warn you.
"Mass. may tell Amazon to charge sales tax" June 06, 2012|Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff
The
Patrick administration may require Amazon.com to start collecting sales
tax on purchases made in Massachusetts, a move that would raise prices
for online shoppers, but generate as much as $45 million in annual
revenue for the state, according to several people briefed on the
matter.
I'm so sick of this state stealing our money so they can hand it out to corporate intere$t$ and well-connected friends when they are not feathering their own nests or making debt interest payments.
The Massachusetts Main Street Fairness Coalition, a group
of retailers, elected officials, and labor unions, recently escalated
pressure on state officials to impose the 6.25 percent tax on Amazon
sales after the company bought a local technology firm and opened an
office in Cambridge. Merchants are supposed to collect the tax if they
have a physical presence in a state.
See: Massachusetts Sales Tax Swindle
And they are still cutting services.
Traditional
shop owners say Amazon’s exemption has put them at a competitive
disadvantage by providing online customers with a built-in discount.
In
addition to negotiating with Amazon on the sales tax issue, the Patrick
administration wants to talk about the company’s business plans and
opportunities for job creation in Massachusetts, according to people
briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because it is early in the
process. No timeline for implementing sales tax collection has been
set, they said....
Currently, Massachusetts residents who buy products from online
companies that don’t collect sales tax are supposed to pay it to the
state Department of Revenue. Few do, however, and there is little
enforcement....
“States are now beginning to realize they have to find every dollar that
is legitimately out there for taxes owed and not being collected,’’
said Neal Osten, of the National Conference of State Legislatures....
They no longer serve you, dear citizen (if they ever did). They now serve themselves and their money-masters.
In Massachusetts, area businesses said the rapid growth in mobile
commerce has made it difficult for shop owners to compete against online
companies that offer free shipping and do not charge taxes.
Maybe we should junk the tax instead -- and watch this economy take off. Of course, that would leave the money in the wrong hands, wouldn't it?
The Main
Street Fairness Coalition sent a letter on Thursday to the Department of
Revenue calling on the agency to force Amazon to collect sales tax at
the start of the fiscal year in July, and on Monday the Retailers
Association of Massachusetts sent a letter to 200 lawmakers asking them
to take action on the issue....
“Our
message is to either extend the tax collection requirement to them now -
or take it off of us until they do collect it,’’ said Jon Hurst,
president of the retailers association. “We want to operate under the
same rules as Amazon now that they have a presence here just as we do.’’
I like that second option.
Requiring Amazon to collect sales tax could discourage some price-conscious consumers from buying merchandise on its site.
“Having
no sales tax to contend with makes [Amazon’s] prices even more
appealing,’’ said Steve Smith, an Amazon customer who lives in Avon. “If
they instituted a Mass. sales tax, I would probably look at other sites
to see if avoiding the tax were possible.’’
But other shoppers said they will continue to buy from Amazon no matter what, citing its ease of use and convenience.
“I’m
a guy and do not like shopping, so I do most of my shopping online,’’
said Danny Fitzgibbon of Brookline. “If Amazon added a sales tax, I’d
still use them. I’ve bought from other sites - not many - which did
charge Massachusetts’ sales tax. It didn’t stop me.’’
--more--"
Update: If Amazon taxes in Mass., will buyers bolt?
