Perhaps he meant that state and local taxes can result in consumers buying from out-of-area suppliers to dodge those taxes, like many "mail-order" operations ha

Perhaps he meant that state and local taxes can result in consumers buying from out-of-area suppliers to dodge those taxes, like many "mail-order" operations have always been... including, until a few years ago, Amazon. This may even still be the case. In CA, anyway, Amazon and the FTB made a deal a few years ago such that Amazon generally collects CA sales tax on sales to CA addresses.