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Amazon Suing New York State Over Sales Tax Law
By
John Del Signore
Published May 2, 2008
Modified May 2, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 2, 2008
Modified May 2, 2008
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Last week Governor Paterson signed off on a new tax law requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax from consumers in New York State. Like other states, New York requires residents to pay tax on out-of-state purchases for which sales tax wasn’t collected. The big argument is over who’s responsible for collecting; the new law puts that onus vendors like Amazon, which is now fighting the bill in State Supreme Court.
What’s interesting is that the new bill hinges on some legal legerdemain that would make John Yoo proud: The law claims that Amazon does have a presence in New York because of all the websites with in-state address that link to Amazon for a referral fee – links like this!
Amazon insists the law is “overly broad and vague,” because how are they supposed to figure out which of their myriad affiliates are in New York? The company equates the referral fees to ads, and goes further to call it unconstitutional because, by specifically targeting Amazon when they drafted the bill, lawmakers violated the “equal protection clause.”
Tagged
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amazon
consumer
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lawsuit
ny state
online
sales tax
taxes
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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