On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that states are now allowed to collect sales tax from online retailers. The vote was close at 5-4. President Trump has been advocating for this ruling since his political venture started and he is happy about the decision. When news broke about the ruling, Trump tweet, “Big Supreme Court win on internet sales tax – about time. Big victory for fairness and for our country. Great victory for consumers and retailers.”
Large online retailers like Amazon are greatly affected by this ruling, and law experts say that the tax will be beneficial for them. John Swain, a law professor at the University of Arizona told CNBC that, “Amazon should be helped because it is collecting sales tax in every state, while it is the Wayfairs of the world who are directly hurt”.
In the past, Trump has accused Amazon’s of harming local governments and other traditional retailers. Trump tweeted back in August that, “Amazon is doing great damage to tax-paying retailers. Towns, cities, and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt – many jobs being lost!”.
Trump also criticized the online retail giant in a tweet back in March:
“While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of dollars. The Failing N.Y Time reports that “the size of the company’s lobbying staff has ballooned”
A huge part of Amazon’s business involves third-party sellers. In the past, these sellers haven’t collected sales tax which means that the price of their goods will most likely rise.
National Retail Federation (NRF) President Matthew Shay issued the following statement:
“Retailers have been waiting for this day for more than two decades. This ruling clears the way for a fair and level playing field where all retailers compete under the same sales tax rules whether they sell merchandise online, in-store or both.”
The NRF is happy about the ruling and hopes it will provide equal opportunity for online retailers.
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