On-line merchant Amazon announced in February that it would begin collecting sales taxes in Arkansas voluntarily on March 1, though it’s legally exempt because it has no physical operations in the state.
A variety of legislation is pending to encourage or force on-line retailers to collect sales taxes in Arkansas and legislators have many ideas about using the expected new money.
Is Amazon collecting the tax?
A friend reports several purchases he’s made in March through Amazon had no sales tax add-ons.
What’s your experience?
The Department of Finance and Administration says it is prohibited by law from revealing whether a specific merchant has remitted any taxes. I’ve sent a query to Amazon.
UPDATE: Still no word from Amazon, but readers may have provided the answer. They report paying sales taxes on items bought directly from Amazon, though items bought from independent sellers listed on Amazon may not be collecting the tax.
If nothing else, it illustrates some of the vagaries of Internet commerce. It’s pretty easy to collect from a brick box outlet on Main Street, Arkansas.
Retailers remit on a monthly basis. The March figures, released in April, should begin to indicate impact of the Amazon policy change.
The state will have a pretty good idea of the results, even if it may not share that information publicly. Businesses collecting taxes file a business tax registration form and files individually as stipulated.