Amazon Sues New York State

The following is taken from WebProNews:

Sun 05/04/2008 - Amazon.com is suing the state of New York for its recently enacted tax law that makes it mandatory for online retailers to collect sales tax on items shipped to the state.

The law states that Internet retailers with affiliates in New York must collect New York sales tax because those affiliates have a physical presence in the state. The new law is estimated to generate $50 million in tax revenue for the state.

In the lawsuit Amazon argues that the new tax law, "Violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, both facially and as applied to Amazon, because it imposes tax-collection obligations on out-of-state entities such as Amazon who have no substantial nexus with New York."

Amazon argues that its affiliate advertisers act independently of Amazon, and "they alone choose the timing, format, and placement of the Amazon advertisements on their websites," and they do not solicit or generate sales on behalf of Amazon.

The company also says that the tax law violates the equal protection clause of the constitution because it directly targets Amazon. "It was carefully crafted to increase state tax revenues by forcing Amazon to collect sales and use taxes," the suit says and "state officials have described the statute as the 'Amazon Tax.'"