Taxes Exempt on Amazon?

One of the main reasons Amazon does so well is because of the reasonable prices on so many of their products. Most of the prices on items such as cds, books, and dvds can save a customer a few bucks and a trip to the local Best Buy or Borders. In addition to prices being lower on the internet, Amazon does not have to pay sales tax in most states. In fact, in 2008, the state of New York designed a law specifically to target Amazon stating that any online business had to pay taxes if they had deals with marketing affiliates in the state. Since Amazon did not believe their marketing affiliates were a strong presence in the company, they felt they did not need to pay these taxes. In response, they sued New York, but did not succeed. Since the only states that Amazon has a physical presence in are Kentucky, New York, Kansas, North Dakota, and Washington, these are the only states that require the customers to pay sales tax. This gives Amazon a huge advantage over other retailers.  Although some argue that people shop online primarily because it is convenient and easy or for other reasons, the elimination of sales tax can definitely be a determining factor for customers who are making large purchases. For example in states where sales tax can be up to 9.5% , someone who is buying a more expensive item such as a television can save a lot of money!