I reported previously on proposed legislation by New York City legislators to enforce a sales tax on any online commerce company with a physical presence within the state. However, it looks like Amazon is fighting back, claiming that the proposed law is unconstitutional and violates a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that found mail-order companies are exempt from state and local taxes where they didn't have a prominent brick-and-mortar presence.
One analyst suggests that Amazon is suing out of convenience rather than in principle because such new laws would require all eCommerce sites to add an extra layer of sales tax reporting, no matter how big or small the company.
Or it's quite possible that eCommerce sales may also go down in New York as a direct result of these new taxes.
Whichever comes first.
Posted
May 05 2008, 05:23 PM
by
Richly Chheuy