Currently Amazon is arguing/fighting to preserve its position where it does not have to collect taxes in states where it is not physically present. The following snippet is from an article that I read (link provided):
“In its 1992 Quill decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state could not require a retailer to charge sales tax to the state’s residents unless the firm had a “physical presence” within the state. The Court’s rationale was that requiring non-physically-present sellers to collect sales taxes under the diverse rules in place in the 45 states and thousands of local jurisdictions that levy them would constitute an excessive burden on interstate commerce.”
My wife and I are very big shoppers with Amazon and other online retailers. More days than not there are packages sitting outside our door. We order everything from books, to computers, to baby stuff, stereos, bikes, etc. But what would happen if Amazon and others had to start charging us taxes? Would we still shop there? Would this drive us to more local stores? If tax savings was the only benefit then we would drop them and shop local but it’s not. Here are some of the reasons why we shop online:
- Price – places like Amazon and Zappos always have a better price than local retailers.
- Free Shipping – every place we order from we get free shipping
- Comparisons – we can review multiple versions of a product a lot quicker
- Reviews – we really pay attention to feedback on sites like Amazon
- Convenience – we have two young kids and we can shop late at night or early in the morning
- Coupons/Discounts – we always find deals at the sites like Coupon Cabin
- Quick Shipping – because we live in Chicago we find a lot of our orders coming in one or two days.
So for us, regardless of taxes being collected, we will continue to shop online. I support Amazon in its fight but regardless I will continue to be a very active customer.