The end of the line for the tax holiday from Amazon

[issybird]

I knew that the collection of state sales taxes by Amazon has been advancing relentlessly, but I hadn't realized it was so close to finality, which will be achieved April 1 when the last four holdouts are added to the roster. To be honest, it hasn't been on my radar because I live in a state with no sales tax.

I'm curious if it's changed people's buying habits much, in getting them to consider other vendors. My guess would be that it's at least somewhat proportional to the level of taxation; a relatively trivial percentage is ignored but in localities where the rate is pushing 10%, buyers check out other options. Then there's getting in your car and driving over the state line, a phenomenon I know as I live in a wedge between two tax-collecting entities and there are a lot of out-of-state plates in the mall parking lots. Why buy your Kindle from Amazon when you can save several bucks by going to Best Buy? (And stock up on your carbonated beverages while you're at it, since we don't have a bottle bill, either. )

[harriska2]

I also live in a tax free state (Oregon). I don't hear a lot about Washingtonians coming over here to buy stuff...

[fjtorres]

Read the fine print:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2017/0...tax-us-states/

It means very little, if anything, will change.
They still will only collect sales tax in states with a big physical presence, and they still won't collect tax on sales where Amazon LLC isn't the vendor of record, which is over half the sales at Amazon.com.

Then factor in Prime customers who will buy from Amazon even if they aren't significantly cheaper.

Tax collection has never been Amazon's only, or even biggest, competitive advantage. It's all just a sideshow.

Besides, they're moving in on bigger game:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/t...ogy-might.html

Even allowing for the healthy skepticism required by the source, Amazon moving into B&M clearly proves they don't care about sales tax. Of the suggested markets, furniture seems to be the one just ripe for the plucking. IKEA could use some competition.

[HarryT]

Indeed. Price is not the main reason I shop at Amazon (there's never been a "tax break" for online shopping in the UK). The reasons I shop with them are convenience, a huge range of stock, and great customer service. Price is a distant fourth place.

[cfrizz]

Amazon started taking out taxes for me years ago, I couldn't care less about it. I buy from Amazon for the same reasons Harry does.

[Cinisajoy]

Just looked and if I wanted to drive an hour one way, I could save 1.4%.
Nope, not going to do that.
Paying the tax has never bothered me.

[frahse]

Just today (Sunday at that), I got a package from Amazon containing 2 camping/survival flashlights for 2 of my grand-kids that I will see in Florida Wednesday.

I don't know the why, but there was no tax collected on the purchase, and of course since it was Prime, no shipping costs though it was only about $15 total. It took 2 days to get the package. The lights have solar cells and a crank generator also to charge the batteries. I had a tremendous selection to choose from.

I used the Amazon Store card selection for payment and so got an extra 5% off. Further our church got a donation as well.

And of course returns would be free and easy if needed. Just print a label and drop the box off at the UPS store about 3/4 mile away.

All the above are the reasons I buy from Amazon.

Now if Jeff Bezos would just shut the doors on his Washington Post paper before he goes off into space, he would be my total guy and I would mount a "bobble head" of him on the windshield of my jeep to go with Trump, Andrew Jackson and of course my avatar "Stonewall Jackson."

[fjtorres]

Bezos is hands off the WP, letting the editors manage it their way but lately the staff has gone off the deep end. All politics all the time. If he doesn't put his foot down they'll blow all the gains his techies have bought them over the last few years. It's gotten almost as bad as the NYT.

That's no way to run a 21st century business.
Certainly not the way he runs Amazon.

[cromag]

Amazon has been collecting taxes, when necessary, for NJ shipments for a few years. It hasn't made a big difference for me, but it is something I've taken into consideration. For instance, for some electronic items -- audio, photography, computers, etc. -- B&H has been one of the sites I check. Prices are usually as good as Amazon, sometimes better, and they're located in NY, so standard shipping usually winds up being one or two days for me. But, B&H is opening a warehouse/shipping center in NJ, so they recently notified me they'll start collecting NJ sales tax. Newegg has had a major shipping center in NJ for years and has been collecting NJ tax for years.

For major purchases I'll still be looking at the total cost, including price, tax, shipping, etc.

[Apache]

Georgia has a sales tax holiday weekend right before school starts back, in August. I am amazed at the people who buy during the sales tax holiday. In my area you are only saving 7% and the stores usually do not discount during this weekend. People would do much better waiting for the store discounts.
Apache

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Apache

Georgia has a sales tax holiday weekend right before school starts back, in August. I am amazed at the people who buy during the sales tax holiday. In my area you are only saving 7% and the stores usually do not discount during this weekend. People would do much better waiting for the store discounts.
Apache

Yeah, when I saw "tax holiday," I automatically thought of a program that Florida has, by that name, also.

Amazon has been participating in that. When I saw the title of your post, I had that program in mind and wondered if they would even be allowed to quit doing that "tax holiday" (if a company didn't participate, they would be charging tax on something that wasn't taxable (albeit just for a short time), which I'm sure is a big no-no).

Probably the only difference between Florida's and Georgia's program is in the details. I don't know if Georgia does it only once a year, but if memory serves me correctly, Florida does it before the school year starts and at the beginning of the second semester (which semester starts a day or two past New Year).

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Apache

Georgia has a sales tax holiday weekend right before school starts back, in August. I am amazed at the people who buy during the sales tax holiday. In my area you are only saving 7% and the stores usually do not discount during this weekend. People would do much better waiting for the store discounts.
Apache

And the day after the tax holiday, the prices drop.
Or sometimes the week before.

[patrik]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm curious if it's changed people's buying habits much, in getting them to consider other vendors. My guess would be that it's at least somewhat proportional to the level of taxation; a relatively trivial percentage is ignored but in localities where the rate is pushing 10%, buyers check out other options.

Bo hoo.... I pay 25% sales tax when I buy from Amazon... (which is mainly kindle-books).

I stopped buying physical products from amazon.com when I always got hit with 25% sales tax, about 5-7% custom tax and admin cost.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by patrik

Bo hoo.... I pay 25% sales tax when I buy from Amazon... (which is mainly kindle-books).

Sales tax, or VAT? (They're not the same thing!)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sales tax, or VAT? (They're not the same thing!)

VAT is misleading. The consumer gets no added value. So yeah, sales tax and VAT are the same thing. It's just that VAT is a higher rate.