Amazon Tax Collection Underway

Hoosiers making purchases through Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) are now being charged state sales tax. The collections began Wednesday under a 2012 deal struck with former Governor Mitch Daniels. Many retailers say Amazon and other online-only sellers had an unfair advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar stores because they did not collect state sales tax.

Amazon has a major presence in Indiana, including a distribution center in Jeffersonville that opened in 2012. That facility employs more than 1,100. In July, the company announced it would add thousands of jobs at more than one dozen fulfillment centers, including Jeffersonville.

In February, the Indiana House overwhelmingly passed a measure calling for collections to begin six months earlier, but Senator Luke Kenley (R-20) refused a vote on the bill because of concerns about breaking the previous deal.

Amazon has also begun collecting sales tax in Nevada and Tennessee.

Source: Inside INdiana Business