Amazon Tax begins Nov. 1, 2013 for Massachusetts

They appear to be going for the states that will generate the most revenue first (Kalifornia and Massachusetts), I think Idaho and Hawaii are probably pretty far down their list for revenue generation. I own property in Oregon that I can ship to if push comes to shove.

rick_reno wrote in post #15355318
Still no tax here in Idaho. I haven't been in Hawaii to try and order there.

Idaho has computers? When did that happen? Next thing you know, Michigan will get shoes! Little known fact about Indiana: there are more hogs than people in Indiana. And you thought that smell was coming from Illinois!

rick_reno wrote in post #15405843
They appear to be going for the states that will generate the most revenue first (Kalifornia and Massachusetts), I think Idaho and Hawaii are probably pretty far down their list for revenue generation. I own property in Oregon that I can ship to if push comes to shove.

I'm surprised it took my beloved Taxachusetts this long to get Amazon to start collecting. I'll still use my Prime account regularly but will mumble to myself for a while doing it. It won't affect my photography purchases, though. I go through B&H or Adorama almost exclusively for my gear.

Ball4 wrote in post #15405078
Once they started collecting taxes in CA, they lost me as a customer.

again, it's not really amazon's choice, and it's a bit unfair to penalize them for what the states are requiring. i do think same-day delivery plans will be a fair trade-off as it would mean that instead of going to the store to pick something up, you could order something during your lunch break and have it delivered to your doorstep by the time you get back from work. since they deal in volume, amazon still might be quite a bit cheaper than a regular brick and mortar since they have less overhead.

TSchrief wrote in post #15405861
Idaho has computers? When did that happen? Next thing you know, Michigan will get shoes! Little known fact about Indiana: there are more hogs than people in Indiana. And you thought that smell was coming from Illinois!

Back in the late 80's, we were moving from NYC back to Palo Alto. I was done at Columbia and took a position back at Stanford. We'd bought a rust bucket of a Peugeot car in NYC, I had faculty parking but it was a couple of blocks from our apartment and I wanted something I could park on the street and have it not be bothered. This car was perfect, no one would go near it. The a/c didn't work so we drove thru Indiana and Iowa with the windows down in August. The stench was incredible, but the people were great.

Thanks for posting. I'm sad to see the net tax coming up as a way to crush one of the few free and competitive arena's for retailers and their customers

Just got my tax notice from Amazon here in Tennessee...yuk!

Rally Man wrote in post #15354144
For us in California we have been getting charged tax for at least a month now. For electronic stuff I am using other companies now. It's the same situation for newegg.

I'm in the same boat. been a prime user for many years now, and I am close to cancelling my membership. Amazon is a really good company and all, but my wallet will come first.

Been taxing here since sept. 2012

As a consumer, this stinks. But as a practical matter, this only makes sense and is fair as states have been missing out on TONS of tax money.

Aren't you legally obligated to report these tax-free purchases at the end of the year?

It's required here in Washington State. We have to pay use tax.

^^^^You certainly are, at least in Arizona. The Tax form specifically contains a line for such entries. But, how many of us do that??? I know I don't.

Lou

lowrider wrote in post #15575298
^^^^You certainly are, at least in Arizona. The Tax form specifically contains a line for such entries. But, how many of us do that??? I know I don't.

Lou

I believe here in MA, they include a safe-haven amount for assumed tax-free purchases which everyone (usually, to my knowledge) pays. It seems like opting out of that really kind of sends a 'audit me!' flag. (In fairness, my wife prepared our taxes this year. I really hope she paid the safe-haven amount for online purchases, now that I think of it!)

it's just fair and doesn't matter one bit to me here in CA. And it made me buy things locally that I would have ordered before, if the price difference isn't too big.
But that was just a silly loophole that needed to get closed. Online merch has already killed so many local businesses, we have exactly one bookstore left (B&N) and what's left of camera stores is useless, they don't stock high priced items anymore. Most are gone as well. Town is full of clothing stores and shoe stores.

I just hope they do funnel it back into my town, not sure if they do or if it all just goes to CA in general.

phantelope wrote in post #15575514
it's just fair and doesn't matter one bit to me here in CA. And it made me buy things locally that I would have ordered before, if the price difference isn't too big.
But that was just a silly loophole that needed to get closed. Online merch has already killed so many local businesses, we have exactly one bookstore left (B&N) and what's left of camera stores is useless, they don't stock high priced items anymore. Most are gone as well. Town is full of clothing stores and shoe stores.

I just hope they do funnel it back into my town, not sure if they do or if it all just goes to CA in general.

Yeah, as a MA consumer I'm very unhappy about this, but really it's been a long time coming. In the grand scheme this is the only fair thing, and it should theoretically provide a bit of a boost to brick and mortar shops...and, who knows, in a perfect world maybe that extra money will pay for after-school programs and infrastructure improvements.