Arizona sends Amazon $53 million tax bill

by Associated Press (February 3rd, 2012 @ 12:47pm)

The logo for Amazon.com is displayed at a news conference, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

PHOENIX - A $53 million bill for uncollected sales taxes has been sent to Amazon.com by the state in a sign that Arizona is getting tough on untaxed Internet firms.

The Arizona Republic reports Amazon disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Arizona issued the assessment covering untaxed transactions from March 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2010.

The bill includes taxes and interest on behalf of the state and certain, unspecified cities.

Arizona's sales tax carries a rate of 6.6 percent.

The company says it will challenge the bill and believes the assessment is without merit.

Last 5 Comments

  • Reply Abuse Vote
    Can
    Jim Sanson
    Can I send Arizona a bill?
  • Reply Abuse Vote
    I have a small business....
    USCitizen
    in AZ and I have to collectand pay sales tax on all sales made to residence of AZ, why should Amrazon.com be any different. They do not charge sales tax to oreders shipped out of AZ but should charge for orders sold within AZ.
  • Reply Abuse Vote
    Arizona
    GetReal
    One more thing that makes me question why in the world I would still want live in this state. My relatives back east are giving me all kinds of flack.... I can now look forward to more. sheeesh!
  • Reply Abuse Vote
    Where's your pointing finger now Jan?
    nunya b
    No position? Is she Governor or now? Direct your Dept of Revenue to stop this nonsense. I can't walk into an Amazon store & walk out with a purchase so there is no physical presence as defined by the SC. If Amazon leaves we would lose thousands of jobs at UPS, Fedex, U.S. Mail, OnTrac & more! Amazon is helping to drive Arizona's recovery right now.
  • Reply Abuse Vote
    Don't forget..
    Cletus
    Our heroes in the state house have added a line to our state income tax forms where we have to declare how much money we spent on internet purchases throughout the year and then pay the 6.6 percent on that amount. If you do your own taxes using Turbo Tax or the like, and you put zero on that line and then e-file, you will probably get flagged for an audit.
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