Amazon.com has a brick and mortar or other physical presence within Texas?
Amazon.com has a brick and mortar or other physical presence within Texas?
http://www.statesman.com/business/texas-seeks-269-million-in-sales-tax-from-987685.html
Texas seeks $269 million in sales tax from Amazon
By Barry Harrell AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 10:13 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
snip
Amazon, which is based in Seattle, has a distribution center in the Dallas suburb of Irving.
Because of that physical presence, Amazon is supposed to collect sales taxes on transactions in Texas, under a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. But the world’s biggest online retailer has not done so in Texas.
Other companies with stores or other operations in Texas do collect tax on online sales, including Sears, J.C. Penney and Dell Inc.....
In a statement e-mailed Friday to the American-Statesman, R.J. DeSilva, spokesman for the comptroller’s office, said that Amazon “has requested a redetermination, which means this is an ongoing audit and could be decided as part of the administrative hearings process.”
DeSilva said state law prevented the comptroller’s office from commenting further as the investigation continues.
Amazon’s Irving facility has a taxable value of about $33 million, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District’s website.
end snips
let’s hear some more about how conservative texas is
Amazon headquarters is based in Seatle, WA.
If a Texan goes to Seattle and purchases a hotel room, does he owe Texas taxes on that room? Or if he buys clothes, jewelry, rents a car, buys furniture, electronics or anything else? Nope.
If I order clothes through mail order, phone or have a friend ship me goods, no taxes are collected.
This sounds like nothing more than a state government shake-down, on a successful (and therefore ‘evil’) company.
The Texas Comptroller's Office has been looking at whether Amazon's distribution center in Irving, Tex. gives the company a physical presence, or "nexus," in the state, which would require it to collect sales tax, according to a series of reports in The Dallas Morning News.
Shouldn't the Comptroller determine whether there is merit BEFORE assessing taxes?
This is interesting.
Where does the actual sales transaction take place? Washington or Texas?
Buyers are supposed to self-report internet purchases. How does Texas know they haven’t already collected these taxes?
Amazon has known this fight was coming for a long time. I’m sure they are ready for it.
I have to say though that one of the main reasons I often buy from Amazon is to avoid sales tax on bigger ticket items. I live in Missouri but I’m sure sooner or later my state will target Amazon on some pretext.
I think it's just cute that these guys who think we should all be ruined with taxes doesn't want to pay them.