California lawmakers try to head off Amazon sales tax referendum

State lawmakers escalated their war with Amazon with a fresh attack aimed at the Internet giant's refusal to collect taxes on its sales, which a new law requires.

The legislative move would halt Amazon's campaign to put a referendum on the June ballot asking voters to overturn the state's Internet sales tax law, which took effect July 1. In a bit of legislative legerdemain, the state Senate Appropriations Committee took the language of that law, tweaked it and put it into a so-called urgency bill. As an urgency bill, the legislation, should it pass, would nullify the existing law, invalidating Amazon's voter petition, and the new law would be immune from a referendum. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, apparently was blindsided by the maneuver.

(Aug 26)