Conservative governors, joining their
Democratic counterparts, have been making deals with online retail giant Amazon.com
AMZN +0.59% to collect
state sales taxes. The movement picked up an important ally when New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie—widely mentioned as a potential vice-presidential
candidate—recently reached an agreement under which Amazon would collect sales
taxes on his state's online purchases in exchange for locating distribution
facilities there.
The move toward taxing online sales has broad
implications. Online shopping will become more expensive for consumers.
Brick-and-mortar retailers won't have the price disadvantage they now have
compared with online sellers. Strapped states suddenly could be flush with $23
billion in new annual revenue, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA)
today called on State Treasurer Andy Dillon to follow the law and his
department's own guidelines by sending a bill to online giant Amazon for sales
tax owed the State of Michigan.
