Amazon’s Tax Dispute May Be Destined for the Supreme Court

One of the less-remembered legacies of Eliot Spitzer’s governorship was the “Amazon tax.” It was his administration that came up with a plan to get Amazon and other out-of-state online retailers to start collecting state and local sales taxes from New York customers. Six years (and two governors) later, New York’s battle with Amazon came to a head on March 28 after the state’s highest court upheld the constitutionality of the tax in a 4-1 ruling. Writing for the majority, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman concluded: “The bottom line is that if a vendor is paying New York residents to actively solicit business in this State, there is no reason why that vendor should not shoulder the appropriate tax burden.”