Amazon to charge state sales tax

ATLANTA — If you like to shop on Amazon.com, get ready to pay the state sales tax on what you buy.

State officials tell Channel 2 Action News the giant online retailer will be collecting the state's 4 percent sales tax.

'We are currently in ongoing talks to make sure that tax begins to be collected in a reasonable amount of time," said Brian Robinson, spokesman for Gov. Nathan Deal.

Robinson would not say when the company would begin collecting the sales tax.

Amazon and Georgia have been in negotiations over collection of taxes for online purchases to avoid a court challenge.

In January, a new law took effect requiring online shops with no physical presence in Georgia to charge the state sales tax for items sold to state residents.

Other states have struck deals with the nation's largest online retailer that exempted Amazon from collecting taxes for a defined period of time, in exchange for a job creation investment.

The governor's spokesman would not say if that was part of the negotiations.

Channel 2's Tom Regan asked if Amazon was offering to build a distribution center in Georgia.

"I cannot say. It would be great. Certainly the governor would welcome any new jobs in Georgia," Robinson said.

The state has notified several of the largest online retailers of their legal obligation to collect taxes on sales to Georgia residents.

If Amazon began collecting the tax, it's estimated the state would receive $16 million in annual revenue.

Local stores complain Amazon has a competitive advantage by not charging sales tax.

Channel 2 Action News attempted to get a comment from Amazon regarding the company's negotiations with Georgia, but did not receive a response.

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