In a recent tentative deal with California lawmakers, Amazon will continue doing business as usual and will delay collecting taxes from online sales until September 2012.
The online retailer was the main target of Assembly Bill 28x that mandated Amazon to gather taxes from California sales starting July 2011. In response to the mandate, Amazon initiated a referendum campaign to challenge the law.
Proponents of the new state law argue that the mandate on the online retailer would generate $200 million in tax revenues for California during the 2011-12 fiscal year.
In a letter to lawmakers, however, Board of Equalization (BOE) Member, George Runner stated that “repealing AB 28x would restore jobs for thousands of affiliates, as well as $31-$43 million in lost affiliate income tax revenues.”
Although the deal has not been made public, California Senate Democrats and Republicans have signed off on the deal and Amazon can continue making sales without collecting taxes.