Katherine Braun sorts packages toward the right shipping area at an Amazon.com fulfillment center in Goodyear, Ariz., in this Associated Press file photo. Some Tennessee lawmakers object to Amazon not paying sales taxes on products that will be shipped from its Hamilton and Bradley fulfillment centers.NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam is finding support among area lawmakers for his argument that Amazon’s voluntary agreement with the state to collect sales taxes doesn’t constitute a tax increase on the company’s Tennessee customers.
In announcing last week’s renegotiated deal with the online retail giant, Haslam declared “this isn’t a new tax; this tax was already due. This was just a question of Amazon collecting it themselves.”
With Amazon building two distribution centers employing 1,500 people in Hamilton and Bradley counties, local lawmakers during this year’s legislative session fought efforts by critics to undo former Gov. Phil Bredesen’s original agreement with Amazon and force the company to collect sales taxes.
But they are going along with Amazon’s voluntary agreement to begin collecting sales taxes on Jan. 1, 2014. Several lawmakers agreed with Haslam’s contention that it does not constitute a new tax.
“There’s no question the tax is due,” said Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga. “The question is, whose duty it is to pay it?”