Texas Sends Amazon $269M Sales Tax Bill; Could Woot Have Pushed Texas Over The Edge?
from the that's-one-expensive-bag-o'-crap dept
For years, we've had stories about battles between state governments and Amazon (and, to a lesser extent, other online retailers) over collection of sales tax. Under the law, mail order retailers only have to collect sales tax in states where they have a physical presence. In other states, the end users (the buyers) are supposed to report and pay the sales tax themselves, though almost no one does that. Some states, such as New York, have tried to get around this by declaring anyone who's a member of an affiliate program to represent a physical presence, leading Amazon to kill off affiliate programs in certain states. When the legal battle over this happened in New York, a reporter in Texas noted that Amazon appears to have a distribution facility in Texas, and asked lawmakers how come Amazon didn't collect sales tax in Texas. Amazon apparently tried to tap dance around this for a couple years, claiming that the distribution center is owned by a subsidiary, rather than by the e-commerce firm itself (yeah, nice try).But things appear to have become a bit more complex since Amazon bought Woot at the end of June. Woot, of course, is based in Texas. So, that makes it even harder for Amazon to claim a lack of a presence in Texas... and now, the state has sent Amazon a whopping $269 million bill for unpaid sales tax, going back a few years. Now, it certainly does appear that Amazon was pretty clearly ignoring the law on sales tax here, but it seems like Woot may have to step up how many bags of crap it needs to sell to help cover the bill.
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I'm Sad
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Re: I'm Sad
My last one had a baby blanket, child-sized earbuds, crappy COBY headphones, and a pair of USB-powered Wootoff lights.
You're not missing much, don't worry.
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Re: I'm Sad
I got one of the very first ones, and all I remember from it was a plastic paperholder that (*hey, look at that!*) is still on my desk, but still not holding any papers. Hmm. I should probably dump it.
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Here ya go... and from Woot!
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About Woot
It'd be interesting how they argued that Woot's presence in TX means that they really do owe taxes back for years where they didn't own Woot.
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other states that will follow suit
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Re: other states that will follow suit
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As a democrat, I am beginning to think that the Republicans have a point in stopping too much taxation by the government.
One wonders how many times one would have to pay taxes: income tax, sales tax, dividends tax, capital gains tax, death tax. Of all these taxes, it could be argued that both sales and death taxes amount to double taxation.
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That's because it's a stupid name. Regardless of your opinion of the tax, it isn't a tax on dying or death. It's a tax on inheritence.
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No, it's not. It's a truthful name. Someone dies and leaves me something, I have to pay a tax on it. If they hadn't died and just gave it to me, I wouldn't be paying a tax on it at all. A death has to take place in order for taxes to be confiscated by the government. Therefore, it is a death tax.
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What is being taxed?
A) A death
B) An inheritence
If A, why are not all deaths so taxed? Why is the tax proportional to the amount inherited, when one death is equivalent to another? If B, why call it a death tax when what is taxed is not a death, but an inheritence?
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Of course if you choose to donate to charity there is no tax due.
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Anyways, I think that they should abolish the income tax and just make a big fat sales tax. That way, illegals cant get out of it. No one can escape it, and it would be fine.
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This just sounds like a desperate tax grab by states that are in financial trouble when online companies have become efficient and profitable, in contrast to the states themselves which have become bloated and more costly during the same time period.
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Somebody is being stubborn
What's the big deal with Amazon? The sales tax is nothing more than administrative and not onerous. They even get to earn interest on the money before they pay it. They SHOULD have been collecting it and passing it on. I'm willing to bet that they turn on the sales tax collection in Texas (anyone from Texas want to try to buy something to see?) and then settle with the state.
The letter of the law is on the states side here - not because of Woot but because of the distribution center.
Why even try to hide it as I said - the consumer is paying the sales tax.
Now if Amazon really wanted to get froggy they could go after their past customers for the back sales tax....
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Re: Somebody is being stubborn
The result: the consumer, as always, gets screwed.
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Re: Somebody is being stubborn
The result: the consumer, as always, gets screwed.
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Re: Re: Somebody is being stubborn
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If income tax was paid only by top 1%, who wouldn't be for it?
It's only by taxing the heck out of The Rich that any country has ever avoided plutocracy and high general tax rates that actually feed directly into The Rich. It was established in the Reagan administration that the income tax system in fact *all* goes directly to bankers without a cent going to pay for gov't operation. It's merely a re-distribution scheme from poor to rich, they're the ones who own Treasury notes and other sheerly financial instruments that funnel general revenues into the accounts of a few.
Starting needless wars is another way to funnel general revenues to the rich. Next time you're paying the quarterly to the IRS, remember the TRILLION dollars at least -- so far -- squandered murdering people in far away places. You are going to get put on austerity programs and your taxes raised to pay for that, along with the Wall Street bailout.
As to Amazon: they clearly need to be fined and charged interest too for non-payment during this nonsense dispute. A subsidiary still owes taxes. I frequently mention here that avoiding taxes is a major element of modern "business models": screwing the public for private gain, that's "capitalism" for you.
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How many jobs will Texas lose
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Re: How many jobs will Texas lose
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Distribution centers
It is hard enough as a business owner in california to figure out all the different county / city taxes when something is bought intrastate.
I can't imagine having to worry about 50 states with 100's of county taxes. That would be one hell of a database to keep up with.
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Re: Distribution centers
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Good luck taxing any business ...
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corporate taxes
I guess this means i am not a republican.
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Re: corporate taxes
What makes you comfortable with accepting that what you owe is YOUR fair share?
Is there any valuation on the services provided to you, or to others, that seems like what you pay is 'fair'? Or is it because it's more-or-less what you've paid all your life, and you have survived just fine, so it must be ok?
If your taxes were to suddenly double, would you feel the same way? What about triple?
No, this isn't likely, I am just trying to highlight the point - what makes you comfortable with the current level you are taxed at?
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Re: Re: corporate taxes
I also recognize that taxes help keep people alive, they pay the police to help keep my family safe, the fire dept, etc.
If i had to pay more in taxes, i think EVERYONE should pay the exact same amount. Corporations have decided they should have the same rights as private citizens, so tax them the same rate i do. If i don't get a tax break for being in NC, then corporations shouldn't either. If i am paying 28% in taxes, so should they, and everyone else.
I do understand your question on how much taxes is acceptable, but taxes would be at a very fair minimum if everyone paid the same.
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