Tax on Internet Sales: So Far Not the End of the World As We Know It

Nov 29, 2012 | Gail Cole

Online retailer Amazon.com has been collecting sales tax in California and Pennsylvania since September of this year. Have internet sales plunged? No, they have not.

Residents of California, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington pay their state sales tax on Amazon.com purchases, but they're still shopping online.

Shoppers nationwide spent more than $1 billion dollars on online purchases on this year's Black Friday, and "Amazon.com was the most-visited retail website on Black Friday, and it also posted the highest year-over-year visitor growth rate among the top five retailers." Wow. Did that impact Cyber Monday? No, it did not. In fact, more internet sales were made on Cyber Monday this year than in any other year.

Does your business sell online? Find out if you're ready to collect online sales tax.

Sales tax rates, rules, and regulations change frequently. Although we hope you'll find this information helpful, this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal or tax advice.

Avalara Author

Gail Cole

Avalara Author Gail Cole

Gail began researching and writing about sales tax in 2012 and has been fascinated with it ever since. She has a penchant for uncovering unusual tax facts, and endeavors to make complex sales tax laws more digestible for both experts and laypeople.