Meet Out-of-State Sales Tax national ally : Alliance for Main Street Fairness

From the Alliance for Main Street Fairness :

Amazon.com’s plan to open and operate a distribution center in Tennessee sounds goods when the mega online-only retailer emphasizes the jobs it would create. But local communities ultimately would pay the price. As part of the deal, Amazon wants special treatment so it can avoid collecting sales taxes on purchases.

That approach would put the burden of paying taxes directly on Amazon consumers, and it would put Main Street businesses at a price disadvantage. That’s bad for the state, and that’s why today our client, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness (www.StandWithMainStreet.com), announced new print advertisements that will run this week in The Tennessean.

“This new advertisement by our coalition highlights that citizens in Tennessee should be very pleased that Amazon is interested in establishing new distribution facilities but very concerned with the fact they are demanding special treatment, which would allow them to avoid collecting the sales tax in spite of the fact that small businesses in the state are required to do so,” alliance executive director Kristin Anderson said.

“The issue is one of basic fairness, and allowing Amazon to exploit a loophole means small businesses in the state will continue to operate at a competitive disadvantage, producing fewer, not more jobs,” she added. “And Amazon’s actions expose Tennessee citizens as they are required to track and remit the sales tax due to the online-only retailer’s failure to do so.”

The print ad will run in The Tennessean through the end of the week. To view it, click here

Important background:

● Number of jobs the retail industry provides In Tennessee: 309,000
(Bureau of Labor Statistics , accessed 1-25-2011)

● Number of jobs Amazon facility would create: 1,500 full time, 2,200 part time
(Dave Flessner, “Should Amazon Buyers Pay Sales Taxes?” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 12-5-2010)

● Tennessee’s estimated sales-tax revenue loss for fiscal 2012: $748.5 million
(National Conference Of State Legislatures , accessed 1-25-2011)

Tennesseans have the right to know how online-only retailers are hurting local communities by exploiting tax law. We hope you will tell others about this issue and prevent Amazon and other online-only retailers from gaining an unfair tax advantage.

Thanks in advance for your time.