Governor Signs “Amazon Bill” into Law – State Seeks to Collect More Taxes from Online Sales
SPRINGFIELD, IL, Friday, March 11, 2011 — Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Thursday (March 10) signed HB 3659, now Public Act 96-1544, into law in an attempt to get more online retailers to collect Illinois sales tax. The new law, modeled on similar attempts by other states, specifically targets Amazon.com, the largest online retailer that does not collect state sales taxes on customer purchases.
The goal of the bill is to level the playing field between traditional “bricks and mortar” retailers that must charge sales taxes on purchases on goods and some online retailers, such as Amazon, that do not. The resulting difference in final purchase price creates an unfair advantage for the online retailers.