Amazon Taxing

From Yahoo:
"Which states make you pay an Amazon sales tax"

Amazon.com (AMZN) today begins collecting sales tax from purchasers in Minnesota and Maryland, marking the 22nd and 23rd states where the online retailer assesses the levy. With the new states, about 69% of Americans—nearly 219 million people—will be subject to tax on their Amazon purchases. That's a big switch from a few years ago, when Amazon fought to protect customers from sales tax, viewing it as a competitive advantage over brick-and-mortar rivals. Now, Amazon perceives itself as disadvantaged versus online rivals such as eBay (EBAY) and Overstock. That's because a 1992 Supreme Court ruling allows states to apply sales tax to any retailer with operations in the state, which some states have interpreted to include partners. With its vast and expanding network of warehouses, Amazon has a physical presence in more states than its competitors, meaning more of its customers have to pay sales tax. Amazon supports federal bill that would give states more leeway to charge sales tax, evening the playing field. Generally, sales taxes in the states seen in the map above apply just to Amazon, except in those cases where another online retailer has a physical presence there. The next state where Amazon is scheduled to collect sales tax is South Carolina in 2016, part of a deal the Seattle company reached to build warehouses in the Palmetto State. Still, other states are likely to fall under sales-tax requirements for online purchases through Amazon. The company has been building warehouses near urban centers at a frenetic pace, as it seeks to speed shipping times. At the moment, Amazon is seeking to build a data center for its growing Web services division in Ohio. That could one day trigger sales tax for another 11.6 million Americans.

^ It seems that Amazon as well as the state governments are working hard to get more  money rather than to ensure that consumers have a good experience. There is a grey area all around. Some sites charge you tax depending on what your state charges (if it does) and others charge what the state the seller is in. There needs to be a clearer, uniform law. ^

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/states-pay-amazon-sales-tax-174700127.html