90.9 WBUR - Boston's NPR news station
Top Stories:
Listen News Programs Schedule
PLEDGE NOW
Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Amazon To Charge Sales Tax In Mass.

Amazon logo as seem at am event in Santa Monica, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012. (AP/Reed Saxon)

Amazon logo as seem at am event in Santa Monica, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012. (AP/Reed Saxon)

Starting next holiday season, Massachusetts residents will pay taxes when shopping at online retail giant Amazon.com. The move comes after six months of discussions between Amazon and state officials, who estimate that the state loses $280 million annually through all online sales.

Federal law requires online retailers to charge sales tax in states where they also have a physical presence, in this case, a Cambridge, Mass.-based office and a North Reading, Mass. -based technology firm. Amazon already collects taxes in eight states, including California and Texas. New Jersey and Virginia are also slated to begin charging taxes to Amazon customers in the coming year.

Guest:

  • Kelli B. Grant, consumer reporter for Smart Money
Other stories from Wednesday's show

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Nome

    If states are going to do sales tax with online purchase, then I shouldn’t have to pay sales tax when I visit another state from my home state. Even if a purchase a box of paperclips in any other state then the one in which I live, this would be taxsaion without representation, seen I can vote in that state.

  • Janatisam5

    No state should earn money on an item they didn’t sell. What is next buy a stamp from the Post Office for each email you send since they lose money. Ridiculous. I hope Amazon goes out of business.

  • rowlandw

    I live in MA only 3 miles from NH!

With Sponsorship from:
Accelerating the pace of engineering and science
Popular Stories
  1. The Science Of Where We Stand In Elevators
  2. The Interview Behind ‘I Drive Your Truck’
  3. Scientists Discover Protein That Reverses Heart Disease In Older Mice
  4. A Father’s Memorial Day Labor Of Love
  5. What Your T-Shirt Label Doesn’t Reveal
H&N Favorites
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Morehouse College President Talks Controversies, Challenges
Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr. is president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Morehouse College)

President Obama delivers the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the all-male historically black college. The school’s president discusses recent controversies and challenges.

1 Comment | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Jails Become De Facto Psychiatric Wards
Mark with Houston at Houston's high school graduation in 2009. (Courtesy of Mac McClelland)

Failures in mental health care mean that often the only way to get help for a loved one is to call the police. We speak with a journalist about the tragic consequences for her family.

19 Comments | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
‘Here & Now’ Interview Inspires Hit Country Song
"I Drive Your Truck" screenshot.

In 2011, a Nashville songwriter heard Alex Ashlock’s interview with Paul Monti, who lost his son in Afghanistan. It inspired her to write “I Drive Your Truck.”

Comment | more »
From Twitter