PHOENIX (AP) — Amazon.com says it’d be illegal but Arizona legislators are moving ahead with a bill that would require the online retailer to collect sales tax on purchases by state residents.
A bill unanimously endorsed by a Senate committee Wednesday would classify Amazon as an in-state retailer for tax purposes because a subsidiary has distribution centers in the state.
Amazon contends it doesn’t have to collect sales tax on sales to Arizonans because the parent company doesn’t have a physical presence in the state, and an Amazon lobbyist says the Senate bill violates a constitutional prohibition on bills targeting individual entities.
The Arizona Retailers Association supports the bill, which the association contends it’s both fair and legal.
Association lobbyists say thousands of jobs in Arizona stores are at stake.
