State group urges deal with Amazon

— An Arkansas group said Tuesday that online retail giant Amazon.com’s deal with California proves that the company is able to collect sales taxes and should do the same for Arkansas.

Amazon reinstated more than 10,000 California affiliates after agreeing to collect sales taxes in California starting Sept. 15, 2012, according to Amazon and California state officials last month.

The firm had terminated its affiliate network in California and other states, including Arkansas, after the states passed legislation aimed at making Amazon pay tax on sales in states where the company has affiliates.

“By making this commitment to the state of California, Amazon has proven that they are both willing and able to collect sales taxes,” said Robert Coon, spokesman for the Alliance for Main Street Fairness in Arkansas. “Amazon should do the right thing by agreeing to collect sales taxes in Arkansas, and reinstating its Arkansas affiliate network that it left out in the cold earlier this year.”

California officials as their part of the deal agreed to defer the law requiring the tax collection on online sales until 2012, which also gave Amazon time to pursue possible legislation in Congress to bring about a national solution to the issue.

State Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, sponsor of Arkansas’ law, said that he hopes Amazon will “do right by Arkansas businesses and their Arkansas affiliates by making the same commitment to Arkansas that they made to California. I hope that they will take the necessary steps soon to reinstate their affiliates and comply with the law.”

A telephone call from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to Amazon’s public relations section Monday was not returned Monday or Tuesday.

Arkansas, Pages 11 on 10/06/2011

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