Pennsylvania to collect sales taxes from Amazon amid Trump tirade on firm
Pennsylvania will become the second US state to begin collecting sales taxes from Amazon for its third-party vendors today, as questions grow about the dominance of the e-commerce giant in a growing number of economic sectors.
The state policy change comes in a week where President Trump has publicly accused Amazon of abusing its market dominance and threatened it with investigations and executive action. Despite a senior aide denying that Trump would take such action, it remains to be seen whether the White House is serious about its claims. However, the move by Pennsylvania marks another state seeking to gain a portion of Amazon’s third-party revenues following Washington state, which passed a similar law last year.
Between a majority of US states collecting sales taxes in some form, and a belligerent White House, the announcements this week come amidst wider political questions and pressures about the size and operations of Amazon and other major US technology companies. However, as a result of their size and growing importance to the economy and stock markets, expect little additional levies to be imposed upon them.
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