Earlier this year, online retailer Amazon.com massed its legal and political troops to battle the State of California over a proposal to require the site to collect sales tax from customers. Now, with the 2011 holiday shopping season in full swing, Amazon is facing the fact that its no-tax loophole is almost certain to close in the new year.
The New York Times reports that “by the time Black Friday rolls around next year, Amazon.com and other Internet retailers will have begun collecting sales taxes on purchases made by their California customers, the result of a deal struck with lawmakers in September.” Reporter Aaron Glantz provides a brief overview of Amazon’s efforts to block the new tax law, as well as those of offline retailers who lobbied for the legislation:
Brick-and-mortar retailers lobbied hard for the new law, which they said could significantly change shopping patterns. . . Shoppers often touch and test products in the physical stores before buying them online, where they are often cheaper.
