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And a lot of their profit is essentially reliant on competing by dodging taxes - their margin advantage to the consumer could, in many markets, simply disappear

by rodgerd 12y ago

And a lot of their profit is essentially reliant on competing by dodging taxes - their margin advantage to the consumer could, in many markets, simply disappear with the closure of a few sales or corporate tax loopholes.

ars 12y ago
That's not true at all. Amazon charges sales tax in lots of places and it hasn't really affected them much at all.
- qq66 12y ago
  It's affected them quite a bit especially in expensive large items like TVs which are easier to buy locally but have large sales tax burdens. The business is still growing but slower than it would have without sales tax. Best Buy's gains over the last 2 years have been achieved in no small part due to price matching with Amazon including sales tax.
opendais 12y ago
That used to be true but they have been collecting sales tax the past few years.
JoshTriplett 12y ago
Not charging sales tax in a jurisdiction you have no presence in isn't a loophole, it's an intentional feature at the federal level. States can't legally tax interstate commerce. Amazon is only starting to charge sales taxes in states because they're establishing local presences in those states.
- toast0 12y ago
  They skirted the rules for local presence for a long time too. They had an engineering office in California, but were not charging sales tax. The office was a wholly owned subsidiary
  - msg 12y ago
    IMHO skirting the rules is legal. If you care about Amazon's behavior because of the law you should have no problem here. If you care about local presence for some other reason you should be talking about that instead. You can't blame companies for operating within the four corners of the law. Perhaps you would prefer that they break the law.
fpgeek 12y ago
Amazon doesn't agree. They are currently lobbying for Internet sales taxes and have been for at least a few years: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021778597_amazonlobbyingxml.html http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021778597_amazonlobb... So far as I can tell, today (the past is another matter) Amazon has no issue charging sales taxes as long as buy.com and the rest have to as well.
InclinedPlane 12y ago
One of Amazon's most profitable regions is Washington state, where they are headquartered and pay sales tax out the wazoo.

by rodgerd 12y ago

ars 12y ago

That's not true at all. Amazon charges sales tax in lots of places and it hasn't really affected them much at all.

qq66 12y ago
It's affected them quite a bit especially in expensive large items like TVs which are easier to buy locally but have large sales tax burdens. The business is still growing but slower than it would have without sales tax. Best Buy's gains over the last 2 years have been achieved in no small part due to price matching with Amazon including sales tax.

opendais 12y ago

That used to be true but they have been collecting sales tax the past few years.

JoshTriplett 12y ago

Not charging sales tax in a jurisdiction you have no presence in isn't a loophole, it's an intentional feature at the federal level. States can't legally tax interstate commerce. Amazon is only starting to charge sales taxes in states because they're establishing local presences in those states.

toast0 12y ago
They skirted the rules for local presence for a long time too. They had an engineering office in California, but were not charging sales tax. The office was a wholly owned subsidiary
- msg 12y ago
  IMHO skirting the rules is legal. If you care about Amazon's behavior because of the law you should have no problem here. If you care about local presence for some other reason you should be talking about that instead. You can't blame companies for operating within the four corners of the law. Perhaps you would prefer that they break the law.

fpgeek 12y ago

Amazon doesn't agree. They are currently lobbying for Internet sales taxes and have been for at least a few years: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021778597_amazonlobbyingxml.html http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021778597_amazonlobb... So far as I can tell, today (the past is another matter) Amazon has no issue charging sales taxes as long as buy.com and the rest have to as well.

InclinedPlane 12y ago

One of Amazon's most profitable regions is Washington state, where they are headquartered and pay sales tax out the wazoo.