Amazon Will Collect Sales Taxes Nationwide on April 1

Megalith

Megalith

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Are your Amazon purchases still tax free? Well, that holiday will soon be over, unless you are lucky enough to live in a state that doesn’t believe in sales tax (Alaska, Delaware, Oregon, Montana, and New Hampshire).

Amazon, the online merchandise juggernaut, will collect sales taxes from all states with a sales tax starting April 1. Tax-free shopping will be over as of next month in Hawaii, Idaho, Maine and New Mexico, the four remaining holdouts. Since the beginning of this year, Amazon has added a number of states to its roster of jurisdictions where it collects sales taxes.
 
You had a nice run, Amazon. Back to shopping locally for me, and buying from other online sites that don't charge sales tax. Amazon prices aren't that great, and when sales tax is added, are no better than local prices.
 
Been paying taxes for little over 2 years now. Still buy from Amazon 90% of the time. Local retail is dying and prices are just way too high around here for me to avoid using Amazon. Also they just added Amazon Fresh grocery delivery in my area, $15/month to have local groceries delivered same day on my schedule?? Yes please!
 
Shopping locally? Aw hell no. Not only is their overhead still going to be much higher, increasing their costs, but the shopping process itself is still far inferior. Locally, it can take me 20 minutes walking through a "mega store" to even find what the hell I'm looking for, only to find its not in stock or they have only one brand to choose from, and nothing to compare it to. I can't see reviews or make an informed decision without going online, which I could have just done and saved the gas in the first place.

What it means is that I may shop from other online vendors that don't pay tax, or on Amazon click on "other sellers" that are price-matching Amazon but don't charge tax in my state. After all, Amazon has already charged tax in Texas for some time, but most of the time shopping on Amazon I'm only using "fulfilled by Amazon" meaning no tax.
 
Pretty sure they've always collected taxes in Canada. Hasn't really bothered me all that much, it isn't like they had a choice.
 
mgulbran said:
<sarcasm>

I want good schools for my kids, bridges, roads, police, etc.... but I'll be damned if I have to help pay for them!

Taxes! Triggered!

</sarcasm>
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Its human nature to be selfish, and especially people that know they aren't net tax contributors are the least likely to complain about taxes since they take more than they put in to the pool... cuz selfish. Tis normal. Next newsflash, water is wet. ;)
 
Any business with a .ca domain has to collect taxes in Canada or CRA can apply in court to have their .ca registration killed (some exceptions exist but taxes most times are collected before the item is in your hands)- so when amazon got their DNS registration they had to start charging the PST/GST/HST. Wouldn't surprise me that they'd be taking their tax code from the .ca site and porting it to the .com as it would be only an extra 50 lines.
 
Bye Amazon saving 10% is worth dropping them. I bought a new 6950x last year and there was a old 920 in it haven't bought anything computer related form them since anyway.
 
jkw said:
You had a nice run, Amazon. Back to shopping locally for me, and buying from other online sites that don't charge sales tax. Amazon prices aren't that great, and when sales tax is added, are no better than local prices.
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That's the point of online sales tax....to get you to buy locally. Mission accomplished says your State Government.
 
Eh -- I still get 5% off anything on amazon with my Chase Amazon prime card. The fact I can order stuff in the morning and it's on my doorstep that same day for the extra cost of ZERO. Means I'm still happy, Amazon is still the cheapest 95% of the time, the fact I don't have to run all over town to shop for whatever is the biggest perk at this point. Still saving money and time so my shopping habits won't change at all.
 
It's not the tax that gets me. It's the price of the item and then you add on the tax. I'm thinking of buying a 1080 for $549. Now I have to pay close to 50 dollars extra on top of that. That is a lot of money. No new news on Vega is grinding my gears.
 
And for the rest of us there's newegg, until they start charging tax of course.
 
I already stopped renewing prime a while back for their shipping last mile with USPS, for me it sucked royaly, ymmv. To compete for my $ going forward, Amazon now has to charge 9.75% less than the places that do not collect sales tax, or I will obviously use other etailers that do not charge local sales tax.

For as long as that lasts anyway.
 
local stores are trying to adapt with in-store pickup, so you don't have to waste time looking for shit.
 
Least with retail you receive the product same day (even same day prime is not as fast) and you also dont pay for return shipping. It's still nice to have choices. BTW, I assume this is business as usually for Amazon fulfillment stores that dont charge sales tax. Since Amazon opened a warehouse in NJ I have mostly used the fulfillment stores.
 
Won't change a thing for me ... and now that I have an Amazon Prime Card, it requires a lot for me to shop elsewhere. A lot of items also now have one-day free shipping. Amazon still has perks that keep me with them ... that and their customer service is unmatched.On multiple occasions they've let me keep my current item and sent me a new one. They don't ever argue and are quick to address any problems I have. There's more than one reason to stick with Amazon than just the tax thing.

Crimson said:
Least with retail you receive the product same day (even same day prime is not as fast) and you also dont pay for return shipping. It's still nice to have choices. BTW, I assume this is business as usually for Amazon fulfillment stores that dont charge sales tax. Since Amazon opened a warehouse in NJ I have mostly used the fulfillment stores.
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In 12 years with Amazon, I have not once paid return shipping. They always let me return the item(s) for free.
 
Skillz said:
Too bad most of our taxes do not go towards schools, bridges or roads. The police also collect most of their money from traffic stops.
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The three largest line items on the federal budget are military, education, and healthcare. Roads are minor, but we spend a fortune on education. And remember that States also collect taxes, not just the feds, and over half of most state's budgets are education. Example: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/crd/localgov/topics/Materials/ApproPie2011b.jpg
 
jkw said:
You had a nice run, Amazon. Back to shopping locally for me, and buying from other online sites that don't charge sales tax. Amazon prices aren't that great, and when sales tax is added, are no better than local prices.
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I disagree. I picked a couple of Samsung SSDs to compare Amazon to Best Buy and in both cases Amazon was cheaper. That doesn't mean I wouldn't consider buying from newegg, but unless Frys or Microcenter (and I'm fortunate enough to have both) has a good sale, I see no point in buying from them.

4TB Samsung SSD.
Amazon: 1405
Best Buy 1499

Samsung 2TB EVO
Amazon: 650
Best Buy: 671

OTOH, when it comes to things like TVs, I think local is going to be about as good in many cases and I'd be inclined to buy local...though I'd be somehwat inclined to do that anyway.
 
The writing has been on the wall about taxes ever since they said they were going to open tons of B&M stores.
 
nilepez said:
I disagree. I picked a couple of Samsung SSDs to compare Amazon to Best Buy and in both cases Amazon was cheaper. That doesn't mean I wouldn't consider buying from newegg, but unless Frys or Microcenter (and I'm fortunate enough to have both) has a good sale, I see no point in buying from them.

4TB Samsung SSD.
Amazon: 1405
Best Buy 1499

Samsung 2TB EVO
Amazon: 650
Best Buy: 671

OTOH, when it comes to things like TVs, I think local is going to be about as good in many cases and I'd be inclined to buy local...though I'd be somehwat inclined to do that anyway.
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Sometimes Newegg has absurdly good prices and that's one of the few times I go with them. Their RMA process is a nightmare, though. Sometimes it's just worth it to go with Amazon, regardless of paying a little extra simply because of their return policy. Amazon tends to have the best prices, though. What's nice about Newegg is you can purchase an extended warranty even after you've already purchased the product, which is a really nice perk. You can go into your order history and add on warranties for various purchases. With Amazon you generally have to buy the extended warranty at the time of purchase.
 
Megalith said:
live in a state that doesn’t believe in sales tax (Alaska, Delaware, Oregon, Montana, and New Hampshire).
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I can't speak for those other states, but it's not like New Hampshire doesn't have taxes. Sure, they don't have income or sales taxes, but they definitely make up for that with some excessive property and investment income taxes.
 
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I'm like everyone else. I don't like paying taxes.

That being said, I do feel this is more fair. It has been an unfair struggle for local businesses to fight against online businesses in other states that don't have the same government mandated costs added to their products. I'm all for level playing fields.
 
nilepez said:
I disagree. I picked a couple of Samsung SSDs to compare Amazon to Best Buy and in both cases Amazon was cheaper. That doesn't mean I wouldn't consider buying from newegg, but unless Frys or Microcenter (and I'm fortunate enough to have both) has a good sale, I see no point in buying from them.

4TB Samsung SSD.
Amazon: 1405
Best Buy 1499

Samsung 2TB EVO
Amazon: 650
Best Buy: 671

OTOH, when it comes to things like TVs, I think local is going to be about as good in many cases and I'd be inclined to buy local...though I'd be somehwat inclined to do that anyway.
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You know Best Buy price matches with Amazon, and just about any other legit online or local business, right? Microcenter does too. I have Best Buy and Microcenter credit cards, and price match probably half my purchases at both places. Consequently, Amazon will rarely have a (probably just slightly) better price than either place. Hell, Best Buy used to even match financing offers, and I'd get them to do those crazy 30-36 month no interest NFM offers. Best Buy also does price matches over the phone for web sales, and I do that if the item is not stocked locally. I also regularly get partial refunds if the price drops at Best Buy or anyplace else within 45 days of purchase. I'm a BB Elite member, so I get 45 days to do that. I recently got $100 back on Oculus Rift Touch controllers, 40 days after my purchase, because Oculus lowered their price.
 
jkw said:
You know Best Buy price matches with Amazon, and just about any other legit online or local business, right? Microcenter does too. I have Best Buy and Microcenter credit cards, and price match probably half my purchases at both places. Consequently, Amazon will rarely have a (probably just slightly) better price than either place. Hell, Best Buy used to even match financing offers, and I'd get them to do those crazy 30-36 month no interest NFM offers. Best Buy also does price matches over the phone for web sales, and I do that if the item is not stocked locally. I also regularly get partial refunds if the price drops at Best Buy or anyplace else within 45 days of purchase. I'm a BB Elite member, so I get 45 days to do that. I recently got $100 back on Oculus Rift Touch controllers, 40 days after my purchase, because Oculus lowered their price.
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They didn't used to, but they're doing price matching again. I've had them price match a few things from Amazon, which is nice. I'll probably eventually get the Best Buy card, but I'm content with my Amazon Prime card for now. Competition is a lovely thing.
 
Jet.com here I come!

I'm a cheap son of a bitch, and I shop around for the lowest prices!
 
I don't have a problem with amazon charging tax, my problem is with the unfair nature in how tax collection is forced on companies. Amazon is the target because they are the biggest but the problem is deeper than that. How is it fair to amazon that a smaller company doesn't have to charge tax? For years amazon reaped the benefit of beating major competitors like Walmart, best buy etc.... Because amazon could evade tax. Now they are losing that advantage as Walmart is picking up steam online. So what happens next? Some company like newegg starts taking over. And the cycle keeps happening over and over. Basically its not a fair system as you are punished for doing well.. For governments it doesn't fix their problems either. oh cool now they get a flood of revenue as amazon starts collecting tax, but in a couple years amazons sales my dwindle to a new player that doesn't collect sales tax, so governments set themselves up for chaos in budgets as the sales tax revenue is constantly a moving target as evasion tactics are constantly evolving and enforcement is nearly impossible because small players flying under the radar are constantly flipping around. Even on amazon itself I think you may not always pay sales tax on the same exact item depending on the reseller.

Now what if we force everyone to collect sales tax in all states? It essentially destroys small players as they cannot handle the book keeping load.

IMO one of several things needs to happen.

A. States need to just move away from sales tax. IMO property taxes are the best way to approach taxes. They are nearly impossible to get away with not paying. The pretty accurately represent the population in an area. And they put the money where the people are at.

B. National fixed sales tax of around 5%. Basically you just pay sales tax into the feds and they divvy it up to the states based on factors congress can fight over for the rest of our lives. The big gain here is even a small retailer only has to worry about paying one entity simplifying book keeping.
 
Even with paying taxes Amazon still ends up cheaper for me compared to the high mark ups local shops demand (talking about pool equipment; pumps, etc).
 
jkw said:
You know Best Buy price matches with Amazon, and just about any other legit online or local business, right? Microcenter does too. I have Best Buy and Microcenter credit cards, and price match probably half my purchases at both places. Consequently, Amazon will rarely have a (probably just slightly) better price than either place. Hell, Best Buy used to even match financing offers, and I'd get them to do those crazy 30-36 month no interest NFM offers. Best Buy also does price matches over the phone for web sales, and I do that if the item is not stocked locally. I also regularly get partial refunds if the price drops at Best Buy or anyplace else within 45 days of purchase. I'm a BB Elite member, so I get 45 days to do that. I recently got $100 back on Oculus Rift Touch controllers, 40 days after my purchase, because Oculus lowered their price.
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IME, Microcenter doesn't even price match Fry's, and there are 2 of them withing 10 miles of the store.

I've had BBY refuse to pricematch software that was on sale at Fry's and claim it was exempt from their price matching (it's not). So I'm not going down that road. Best Buy get's my business if I need it right this second (in which case I'd go there even if amazon didn't charge tax), but otherwise, I try not to put any coin in their coffers.

And honestly, if I was going to price match on a big item, I'd go to Fry's, since they occasionally have price matching and they pay the taxes.

rudy said:
I don't have a problem with amazon charging tax, my problem is with the unfair nature in how tax collection is forced on companies. Amazon is the target because they are the biggest but the problem is deeper than that. How is it fair to amazon that a smaller company doesn't have to charge tax?
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Amazon is voluntarily doing this (it's in the article). And as I wrote above, the reason they're doing this is because they're preparing to open up B&M stores around the country, so they'd have to charge it anyway.
 
Been using Amazon less and less these days. If this new tax policy change INCLUDES out of state 3rd party vendors, this will further erode my use of Amazon.

Ebay matches / beats Amazon 70% of the time on price and without tax. Factor in cash back from Ebates on most Ebay categories and routine 4-10% Ebay bucks promotions and it readily stomps Amazon in most situations. Amazon has a few advantages (Prime perks, unparalleled customer service, better product reviews, etc) but for me personally, the scales tip in Ebay's favor in most purchase situations.

I suspect the blanket taxing of everything purchased over the Internet Congress has been trying desperately to pass for at least a decade, will unfortunately get rammed into law just after the Senate elections next Fall. Amazon see's the handwriting on the wall (blanket taxing of online purchases) and figures it might as well get the adoption / headache's involved with it out of the way.
 
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Iceshot said:
Been using Amazon less and less these days. If this new tax policy change INCLUDES out of state 3rd party vendors, this will further erode my use of Amazon.

Ebay matches / beats Amazon 70% of the time on price and without tax. Factor in cash back from Ebates on most Ebay categories and routine 4-10% Ebay bucks promotions and it readily stomps Amazon in most situations. Amazon has a few advantages (Prime perks, unparalleled customer service, better product reviews, etc) but for me personally, the scales tip in Ebay's favor in most purchase situations.

I suspect the blanket taxing of everything purchased over the Internet Congress has been trying desperately to pass for at least a decade, will unfortunately get rammed into law just after the Senate elections next Fall.
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Yeah, but so have trust issues with eBay.

When I buy from Amazon, I try to restrict it to o ly items actually warehoused, packaged and sold by Amazon, not marketplace sellers. I don't trust just some random person on the internet.

With eBay, it's ALL just random people on the internet.
 
donald_k said:
Wouldn't surprise me that they'd be taking their tax code from the .ca site and porting it to the .com as it would be only an extra 50 lines.
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If only that were true. Sales tax in California can be imposed by the state, county, and city -- so you need to potentially know all three of those; which isn't as easy as it sounds -- many people live in unincorporated areas that aren't within a city, so not subject to city sales tax rates, but their address will have the city that their post office is located in. I'm sure other states have similar exciting realities, so it's probably a giant mess.
 
Zarathustra[H] - I hear you, no question Ebay has inherently more opportunity for headache's from bad vendors. Amazon is king when it comes to customer service and vendor policing.

However, problems with shady vendors can be avoided by simply buying from long established vendors with high "Feedback as a Seller" scores. It's very rare that something listed for sale on Amazon does NOT have a long established, high reputation seller listing the same thing on Ebay. Out of 450 Ebay purchases spanning 15 years, I can count on one hand how many times I had to involve Ebay directly because a Vendor tried to pull a fast one. I've always received a full refund from Ebay with modest effort on my part. In each instance I had to contact Ebay for a bad vendor, it involved a new account with "limited feedback". I've learned to avoid those sellers and have not had a single problem ever since.

Ebay is not the wild west of online purchasing it use to be 15-20 years ago. They have GREATLY improved and tightened their polices / protections for customers. For me personally, in most instances, the cost savings outweigh the top notch customer service / buying experience Amazon offers.
 
Meh I've been paying sales tax at the Zon for a long time here in NY. Still worth it.

I only hope this doesn't effect out of state 3rd party vendors. I can still get tax free from them for certain items.
 
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