Thursday, January 26, 2012
Amazon and tax
Amazon is trying to set up a perfectly ironic and perfectly extortionate deal with the Florida legislature. Amazon will add a new processing center with 3000 jobs in Fla if the legislature gives them a 2-year exemption from state sales tax.
In other words: We want to make our company EVEN MORE TAXABLE in your state, but we'll only do it if you won't tax us.
I've never understood why so many states are so hesitant to impose sales tax on online companies like Amazon. It's a big source of revenue, and it's perfectly constitutional (not that anyone really cares about that). Taxing big online operators would be good for the state governments AND good for the people.
Clearly the reason for the reluctance is Amazon's ability to commit political blackmail. And as we know only too well, politics is nothing but blackmail.
Would Amazon lose customers if it added tax? I strongly doubt it. (This fits into my previous rant about the falsity of 'linear' economics.) I've been buying everything except groceries and clothes from Amazon since it first started. Would I switch to some local store if Amazon added sales tax? Nope. Way too much hassle and trouble and uncertainty. Why should I waste two hours of walking and bus transfers, looking for something that I probably won't find? ¶ 8:52 AM
In other words: We want to make our company EVEN MORE TAXABLE in your state, but we'll only do it if you won't tax us.
I've never understood why so many states are so hesitant to impose sales tax on online companies like Amazon. It's a big source of revenue, and it's perfectly constitutional (not that anyone really cares about that). Taxing big online operators would be good for the state governments AND good for the people.
Clearly the reason for the reluctance is Amazon's ability to commit political blackmail. And as we know only too well, politics is nothing but blackmail.
Would Amazon lose customers if it added tax? I strongly doubt it. (This fits into my previous rant about the falsity of 'linear' economics.) I've been buying everything except groceries and clothes from Amazon since it first started. Would I switch to some local store if Amazon added sales tax? Nope. Way too much hassle and trouble and uncertainty. Why should I waste two hours of walking and bus transfers, looking for something that I probably won't find? ¶ 8:52 AM
