By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
The nation’s largest online retailer is going to start collecting sales tax on items ordered by its Arizona customers.
Amazon.com announced Friday it has reached an agreement to settle the $53 million assessment against the company by the state Department of Revenue for unpaid sales taxes.
The disclosure, made in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, does not spell out how much the company would pay. The statement called the amount “immaterial.”
But the real victory for the state is that Amazon and its subsidiaries will collect and remit the state sales tax beginning Feb. 1 for any goods sold to Arizonans. And starting July 1, Arizonans who order digital products or services, like downloading a book online, also will be paying the 6.6 percent levy.
In the interim, though, Arizona has agreed not to pursue the company for taxes on sales prior to those dates.
The deal is a major victory not only for the state, which will now benefit from the additional proceeds, but also the Arizona Retailers Association which has fought for years to end the advantage the online giant has over “brick and mortar” retailers which have to impose the state’s 6.6 percent tax plus any local levies.
