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Sales taxes fund local infrastructure. Why should Amazon have to pay for a fire department that it will never possibly need? In regards to the "fairness" quest
by kevinskii 15y ago
Sales taxes fund local infrastructure. Why should Amazon have to pay for a fire department that it will never possibly need?
In regards to the "fairness" question, put it a different way: It's unfair that brick and mortar companies can offer their customers immediate gratification and the ability to physically inspect items before buying. Amazon can do neither.
- Anechoic 15y agoWhy should Amazon have to pay for a fire department that it will never possibly need? It's certainly in Amazon's interest that their customers have access to those local FD's. Even if one doesn't agree with the FD example, those sales taxes also pay for local roads and surely Amazon makes use of those. (Lest I be accused of being a hypocrite, I do pay the local sales tax for internet purchases via the Massachusetts 'safe harbor' provision for small purchases and itemized listings of my larger purchases with my state tax filings)
- yummyfajitas 15y agoAmazon doesn't use local roads. Fedex, UPS, etc do. Those companies all have a local presence and (presumably) pay their taxes to the state in which they operate. The taxes are then passed on to Amazon or the consumer in the form of higher prices on shipping. As for local fire departments, I use Pivotal Tracker. Should Pivotal Labs be forced to pay Maharashtra taxes since it's in their best interest that my company not burn down?
- gojomo 15y agoTechnically, Amazon isn't paying the tax. The resident buyer is; Amazon is just collecting it to pass along, same as with local businesses. (The buyer still owes the tax if Amazon doesn't collect it – under 'Use Tax' laws – but that is easy to evade.)