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Originally Posted by CommonReader
Eh? The US is one of only three countries (the other ones being Eritrea and the Philippines) that demand even from citizens that live and earn their money permanently abroad to file tax returns and to pay taxes. The US is going after its own citizens so hard that European banks increasingly refuse to open otherwise completely legitimate bank accounts for US citizens.
I don't see what's so patriotic about giving companies the opportunity to exploit tax loopholes that aren't available to companies that operate in the same line of business.
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The reason Amazon pays less taxes (at least in the U.S.) has more to do with State tax laws than federal tax laws. If a business sets up in say, Kansas, and someone from California goes to their store in Kansas then the company only has to collect sales taxes for Kansas. Just because the customer was from California doesn't matter. The company is a Kansas company, and it would be completely unfair to make that company pay California taxes just because a Californian bought something from the company.
Before the internet, some companies were formed that sold items through catalogs. They were no different from brick and mortar businesses. Where their customers are from is not important. The thing that is important is where the business is located. California can't make a Kansas company collect and send it taxes just because a citizen of California is a customer. It doesn't matter if the Kansas company sells through a B&M, catalog, or website.
Amazon isn't exploiting anyone. States trying to force the company of another sovereign state to collect taxes for them are the ones doing the exploiting.