Amazon Asks Supreme Court to Decide Sales Tax Fight

Amazon is taking a fight over sales tax in the state of New York to the U.S. Supreme Court. Exactly why is a little unclear.

The online retailer on filed documents to appeal the issue to the nation’s highest court, arguing that Amazon customers shouldn’t be subject to sales tax in New York because the Seattle company’s operations there aren’t substantial enough to trigger the levies. The document was filed by the Washington DC law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, whose partner Ted Olson is a former US solicitor general and took part in the Bush v. Gore battle following the 2000 election. What seems odd about the filing is that Amazon has brokered deals with a variety of states–or chosen not to fight–allowing sales tax collection there. Starting next month, for instance, Georgia and Virginia will begin requiring sales tax collection for Amazon merchandise and in just the past year, Amazon has begun collecting sales tax from residents in New Jersey, California, Texas and Pennsylvania. At issue is a 1992 Supreme Court case that found that companies must have a physical presence in a state to be subject to sales tax.