Amazon.com warehouse in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)NASHVILLE – A coalition of brick-and-mortar retailers contends a new Tennessee attorney general opinion clearly establishes that Amazon must collect state sales taxes once it opens two distribution centers in Hamilton and Bradley counties.
“The AG opinion effectively reverses the situation in the legislature,” said former Deputy Attorney General Bill Hubbard, who has been retained by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a group that includes Wal-Mart.
He said “the burden is on Amazon to have to pass a bill in order to have a sales tax exemption.”
But House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, who has defended the state’s agreement with Amazon against previous attacks, said Attorney General Bob Cooper’s opinion is nowhere near as clear-cut as Amazon’s foes would have it.
“You could drive a truck through that,” McCormick said. “We’ve got to keep our agreements and the attorney general’s opinion is just an opinion that other people can disagree with.”