Federal court tosses 2010 Colorado Amazon tax law

A federal court has thrown out a 2010 Colorado law meant to spur online retailers like Amazon to collect state sales tax. The law had already been temporarily blocked in federal court last year, but U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn's ruling permanently handcuffs it. "I conclude that the veil provided by the words of the act and the regulations is too thin to support the conclusion that the act and the regulations regulate in-state and out-of-state retailers even-handedly," Judge Blackburn wrote in his opinion. The law and the rules to carry it out "impose an undue burden on interstate commerce" and are unconstitutional, the judge wrote. (April 3)