Amazon gathering anti-tax-law signatures outside retail stores

[The Northerner]

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento — Amazon.com Inc. is giving bricks-and-mortar retailers yet another reason to fume.

As the online giant begins its quest to overturn a new California law requiring it to collect sales taxes just like its Main Street competitors, its signature gatherers are heading to popular shopping areas to obtain the 500,000-plus signatures the company needs to get the measure on next June's ballot.

Petition workers are swarming popular commercial hubs including Larchmont Village in Los Angeles, Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena and the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego as well as Ralphs, Trader Joe's, Target and other major retailers — many of which have lost sales to Amazon.

"It's a particularly clever shot across the bows" of the big-box stores, said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a former speechwriter for Republican politicians. "It says that not only do we intend to fight you in the court of public opinion but actually we're going to come onto your front porch."

Signature gatherers have long been a familiar presence in malls and outside grocery stores and big-box retailers. The law gives these workers generous access to potential voters in commercial centers.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-petition-20110806,0,5932785.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29

[lbrtbell]

1. For once, Amazon is right

Mail-order firms aren't required to collect sales tax in any state unless they have a brick-and-mortar store in that state.

Why should Amazon's customers be taxed, while customers of Walter Drake, etc., aren't?

Internet sales are no different from mail order, and neither should be subject to sales tax.

[Raine]

2. Yup, agree

and if I come across someone with the petition I'll sign it.

[indurancevile]

4. mail order firms typically have a store somewhere & are taxed on sales somewhere.

where is amazon taxed on sales?

The online giant has relied on a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said out-of-state companies were exempt from collecting taxes if they had no presence in the state, such as workers, stores or warehouses. Buyers are still responsible for paying equivalent taxes, but they rarely do.


california can just change the law to say that amazon will collect the taxes on behalf of the buyers & refund them to the state.

someone is supposed to be paying sales tax.

[indurancevile]

3. amazon has a brick & mortar store NOWHERE.

The online giant has relied on a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that said out-of-state companies were exempt from collecting taxes if they had no presence in the state, such as workers, stores or warehouses. Buyers are still responsible for paying equivalent taxes, but they rarely do.

[deacon]

5. +1 for Amazon on this.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Count me in.

+1

[RainDog]

7. Amazon is like WalMart and, no I don't support their petition

they, like WalMart, kill small, local businesses - and anyone who cannot see this is like the person who shops at WalMart and then wonders why the economy sucks.

[itsrobert]

8. Screw Amazon

Even the playing field for online and local retail. That's the only fair thing to do.