Valleywag
Thanks to an intrepid Dallas Morning News reporter, Amazon.com shoppers in Texas may soon have to pay sales tax on goods purchased from the site. Maria Halkias asked Robin Corrigan, a sales-tax policy expert in the Texas comptroller's office, why the state doesn't collect sales tax from Amazon. Corrigan said it's because Amazon.com "told me they don't have a distribution center in Texas." That's incorrect. Go ahead and apply to be a senior operations manager at Amazon's Irving, Texas facility.
Thanks to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, that means Texas can collect sales tax. It's unclear how much more Amazon.com customers will have to pay, but in New York, Comptroller Susan Combs says the state would have picked up $541 million from Amazon in 2006 if it collected sales tax on orders shipped to New York residents. (Photo by Robert Scoble)
Comments
From the law offices of Sample 032 (not a lawyer in any state):
The ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota means Texas can't tax Amazon if Amazon doesn't have any operations in Texas. But Amazon does, so that case isn't applicable, here.
Quill Corp. v. North Dakota does, however, apply to New York and Amazon, though though the circumstances here are different, so much that I'm not sure why you even mentioned the ruling or Amazon and New York.
I think this is very interesting because texas could collect the tax retroactively. If amazon is liable for sales tax, its liable wether or not it collects it. Bah, I'm sure they dont sell much stuff in Texas anyway, nevermind.
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