Amazon.com Will Collect State Sales Tax in 2013
The Internet retailer said the collection would begin in time for next year's holiday shopping season.
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Checking out at Amazon.com will be a little pricier starting next November.
Amazon.com and Patrick said they would work together to support a federal bill allowing individual states to collect sales tax in states where they have no physical location.
"I value the contributions large and small employers alike make to Massachusetts' economic vitality, and this agreement captures that," said Patrick, in a statement. "We are thankful Amazon was willing to come to the table and we will continue our conversations with them about creating jobs here. This agreement is a win for all sides, and I am pleased it promises to generate millions in long-term revenue for the commonwealth.”
Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez said while he's pleased with the progress, that to receive the full benefit of the taxes paid, the feds have to act.
“I appreciate Amazon’s willingness to work with us to reach an agreement that will benefit both the commonwealth’s businesses and Massachusetts taxpayers,” said Gonzalez. “However, Massachusetts and other states will receive the majority of the revenue owed only when Congress passes federal legislation, and we encourage Congress to act."
Will this change how you shop online? Tell us in the comments.
Brian Northborough
12:29 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Congratulations! You elected them...you get to live with them! Tax us all! This is will obviously save the state from the fiscal perils we face without taxing online sales...Of course anyone savvy enough to shop online can find any one of 100 other sites to shop tax free...
Jim O'Connor
11:17 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Brian, It was MA retail businesses that pushed for this. Online purchases of tangible personal property have always been subject to tax. The only change is that Amazon will now be collecting the sales tax like any other Massachusetts "brick and mortar" retail store. I'm sure as a law abiding citizen you always declared and paid the tax (as part of your MA income tax return) on purchases of tangible personal property you brought into MA.
Jay Moore
4:14 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thank you Jim for pointing out the facts. It is refreshing when people actually know what the law states and which lobbying groups pushed for a change. It is so easy to blame President Obama or the Governor. As the article notes, no change was made on the federal level and the proposed bill to make EBay and other online sites collect taxes has been kicking around since the Clinton era. If Brian wants to fuss, he should focus on the tax we all really hate: excise tax!
Mark Cain
7:44 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Obama's pal taxing us to death.
Babe
8:58 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Patrick needs to know it's not a "win for all sides". The taxpayers are the loosers.
Glad i didn't vote for this ass.
PREDATOR
9:34 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The big winner here is NH business.
Allison F
9:41 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Good. This evens the playing field for local businesses.
TBH
10:59 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
more of a win for New Hampshire and Amazon's online competitors. People will shop where they can save the most.
Good grief!
11:59 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
How about lowering taxes to encourage more sales and stimulate trade, and learning to get by on what you have instead of spending your way into debt and bailing the state out by taxation? No, that will never happen. It is just too easy to increase taxes on the population when the state needs more money. If the number of voters getting government benefits exceeds the number of voters paying for them we will spiral into debt, and it will not improve.
Martin Kessel
6:05 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Lowering taxes for everyone may be a good idea, but there's no conceivable reason we should be subsidizing a large out-of-state corporation at the expense of local businesses.
TBH
7:23 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Subsidizing? Even without the tax break, they consistently offer better deals with the convenience of shopping at home with free delivery. I just don't see this as a great boon to local businesses. And what "local businesses" are we really talking about? Target? Walmart? Best Buy? I'm not worried about any of them. Do you really think that more people will shop at small businesses like Tatnuck? People are not going to completely change their shopping habits. They will pay the same 6.25% whether via a local cashier or the click of a mouse.
OFD02125
3:22 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Everyday is a tax-free holiday in NH !!