Amazon’s Long Sales Tax ‘Vacation’ Nearing Its End, Four More States Added to Taxable List

amazon sales tax holiday coming to an end

Amazon, America’s favorite online retailer, is all set to lose one of the most long-held edges it has had over brick and mortar retailers. The company will start collecting sales tax in Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, and New Mexico from April 1, 2017. Since the start of this year, the company has added twelve states to its sales tax collection list, for a total of 41. With the addition of four more states, that number will soon go up to 45.

You can check the list of states where Amazon collects sales tax here.

If you live in Alaska, Delaware, Oregon, Montana or New Hampshire, you need not worry, because these states don’t require Amazon to collect sales tax. So, if you’re a regular Amazon shopper or, God forbid, a Prime member, you might want to consider moving!

The reason Amazon was able to circumvent sales tax in so many states for so long was due to a Supreme Court ruling that allowed retailers with no physical presence in the state to not collect sales tax. But with the company steadily adding fulfillment centers and data centers around the country, and with their plans to open thousands of physical stores around the country, the time has come for Amazon to take the sale tax plunge.

“To avoid collecting taxes, Amazon has historically relied on another high court ruling that predates the era of online shopping. That 1992 decision bans states from forcing out-of-state retailers to collect taxes if they don’t have a physical presence in the state.”PressHerald

As a retailer, Amazon has always used every prerogative to keep its prices low. As an online retailer, they had the benefit of avoiding collecting sales tax in many states where they didn’t have any physical presence, simply because there were no new laws that addressed their situation. But they have grown manifold over the years, and their physical footprint has expanded. Considerably. With plans in place to enter the brick and mortar space, Amazon has finally decided to forgo its prolonged sales tax holiday.

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