I believe we are entering “last refuge of the scoundrel” territory here.
Amazon said [last] Monday that it would back a California ballot initiative that would roll back a new state law that forces more online retailers to collect sales tax.
Amazon’s decision to support the proposed referendum pits the world’s biggest online retailer against the state government, which is looking for ways to raise additional revenue to cover budget shortfalls.
The California legislature last month passed a law, now in effect, requiring online retailers to collect sales tax just like merchants physically located in the state. The law was intended to close a loophole that let online retailers sell their wares but not collect and pay sales tax to the state.
Two weeks ago, Amazon, hoping it could comply with the new law and still avoid collecting taxes, severed ties with thousands of California businesses whose Web sites linked to products on its site. California officials say that move does not free it of this year’s tax obligation, estimated at $83 million.
“At a time when businesses are leaving California, it is important to enact policies that attract and encourage business, not drive it away,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of public policy. He also called Amazon’s antisales tax position “a referendum on jobs and investment in California.”
Actually, it’s a straightforward statement of naked self-interest. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but let’s not try to cloak it in anything noble. Amazon wants to maintain a competitive advantage it was given many years ago. I see no reason why anyone should feel inclined to abet them with that, especially at the cost of the public’s interest, but stranger things have happened.
Supporters of the proposed initiative must now gather around 505,000 signatures to qualify it for the ballot, according to the secretary of state. A vote could occur during the next statewide election in February 2012.
“Where does Amazon plan to collect these signatures — in front of bricks and mortar retailers that collect sales tax everyday?” asked [spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown Evan] Westrup.
Kind of amusing to imagine, isn’t it?