Texas residents shopping Amazon.com may have to start paying sales tax because the company has a distribution center here? WHAT?! They can’t do that!
I am a huge fan of Amazon. I automatically go there any time I’m looking to purchase anything or even researching a product. Why? Partly because of the huge selection (I know I can find it either for sale by Amazon or by a reseller), partly because of the user reviews, but mostly because of the price. Typically the price at Amazon is cheaper than most other Internet retailers and almost always cheaper than what you would find at a brick-and-mortar retailer. And even if the price is the same, it’s still cheaper because you don’t have to pay sales tax and because you can often get free ground shipping.
I’m not fundamentally opposed to paying sales tax. In Texas, where we don’t have a state income tax, the primary sources of income for the state are sales taxes and property taxes, and we pay out the wazoo on both accounts. So while I’m used to paying tax on stuff I buy, even stuff I buy online, any time I can avoid doing so, I will.
So would I shop Amazon less if I had to pay tax there? I don’t know. If the price is still cheaper and I can still get free shipping, then I probably wouldn’t go elsewhere. But I would definitely shop around online more to look for the best deal.
