Amazon has locked horns with the State of California over a referendum that would require the online retailer to collect state sales tax. California has been exploring ways to collect sales tax from online retailers as the state struggles to balance its budget. Unpaid taxes have been estimated at a growing $1.2 billion this year by the state’s Board of Equalization. READ MORE
On Wednesday, California governor Jerry Brown signed a law that requires online retailers to collect sales tax from CA residents even if the companies have no brick-and-mortar presence in the state. It’s another example of the so-called “Amazon Tax,” which circumvents the brick-and-mortar statute of federal law by declaring CA-based affiliates–say, a personal blog linking out to Amazon or Drugstore.com products for a small slice of any sale action–as a physical presence. READ MORE
