Why Don Online Retailers Charge Sales or Use Taxes?
The simple answer to this is they believe the U.S. Supreme Court has said that they are not required to do so. Because local jurisdictions, such as cities and counties, often tack additional sales taxes on to the state sales tax, there are not just fifty different sets of sales and use tax rules for retailers to comply with, but instead literally thousands of different sets of such rules. Requiring a small retailer to comply with all of them could place a significant burden on interstate commerce. Recognizing this, the Supreme Court has ruled that states can only require retailers that have a physical presence in a state to collect and remit sales and use taxes. This would include, for example, a store, a distribution center, employees, or a commissioned sales force. Any of these would be enough of a physical presence to justify the state requiring the retailer to collect sales and use taxes and remit them to the state. Thus, for example, Amazon.com charges sales tax only to residents
