Closing the Amazon Local Sales Tax Loophole
July 17, 2020 02:54 PM to All House Members
Circulated By
Representative Sara Innamorato
D House District 21
Along With
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta
D House District 181
Memo
As we recover from the global COVID-19 recession, it is imperative that we create fairer systems to collect state and local taxes.
In 2017, Pennsylvania enacted legislation to ensure that online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes on marketplace sales at the point of sale or the location where a customer executes the payment for goods. This law ensures that state sales taxes are accurately assessed. In practice, Amazon calculates its taxes based on "location of fulfillment" meaning that, wherever Amazon has a warehouse, the sales tax of that area is included. However, two counties that Amazon does not have a physical presence in – Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties – happen to be the only counties in Pennsylvania that levy a local sales tax on top of the statewide tax. This means that Amazon does not have to collect or remit local sales taxes in those counties, creating a loophole that ultimately hurts local businesses.
Purchases from online retailers that do not collect or remit local sales tax hurt the companies in our areas that hire our local employees, pay our local taxes, and contribute to our local economies. While companies like Amazon can be helpful for price-conscious shoppers, we cannot neglect the hard-working citizens who depend on their communities in order to make a living. To allow for fairer competition between online retailers and local, physical stores, Representative Kenyatta and I will be introducing legislation that would require online sales in Pennsylvania to be finalized at the address of the purchaser.
Please join us in co-sponsoring legislation that will create a fairer environment for our local businesses and raise capital for important public investments.
In 2017, Pennsylvania enacted legislation to ensure that online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes on marketplace sales at the point of sale or the location where a customer executes the payment for goods. This law ensures that state sales taxes are accurately assessed. In practice, Amazon calculates its taxes based on "location of fulfillment" meaning that, wherever Amazon has a warehouse, the sales tax of that area is included. However, two counties that Amazon does not have a physical presence in – Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties – happen to be the only counties in Pennsylvania that levy a local sales tax on top of the statewide tax. This means that Amazon does not have to collect or remit local sales taxes in those counties, creating a loophole that ultimately hurts local businesses.
Purchases from online retailers that do not collect or remit local sales tax hurt the companies in our areas that hire our local employees, pay our local taxes, and contribute to our local economies. While companies like Amazon can be helpful for price-conscious shoppers, we cannot neglect the hard-working citizens who depend on their communities in order to make a living. To allow for fairer competition between online retailers and local, physical stores, Representative Kenyatta and I will be introducing legislation that would require online sales in Pennsylvania to be finalized at the address of the purchaser.
Please join us in co-sponsoring legislation that will create a fairer environment for our local businesses and raise capital for important public investments.
Legislation
Document - Introduced as HB 2891
Last updated on July 17, 2020 02:57 PM
Closing the Amazon Local Sales Tax Loophole
July 17, 2020 02:54 PM to All House Members
Circulated By
INNAMORATO and KENYATTA
Memo
As we recover from the global COVID-19 recession, it is imperative that we create fairer systems to collect state and local taxes.
In 2017, Pennsylvania enacted legislation to ensure that online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes on marketplace sales at the point of sale or the location where a customer executes the payment for goods. This law ensures that state sales taxes are accurately assessed. In practice, Amazon calculates its taxes based on "location of fulfillment" meaning that, wherever Amazon has a warehouse, the sales tax of that area is included. However, two counties that Amazon does not have a physical presence in – Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties – happen to be the only counties in Pennsylvania that levy a local sales tax on top of the statewide tax. This means that Amazon does not have to collect or remit local sales taxes in those counties, creating a loophole that ultimately hurts local businesses.
Purchases from online retailers that do not collect or remit local sales tax hurt the companies in our areas that hire our local employees, pay our local taxes, and contribute to our local economies. While companies like Amazon can be helpful for price-conscious shoppers, we cannot neglect the hard-working citizens who depend on their communities in order to make a living. To allow for fairer competition between online retailers and local, physical stores, Representative Kenyatta and I will be introducing legislation that would require online sales in Pennsylvania to be finalized at the address of the purchaser.
Please join us in co-sponsoring legislation that will create a fairer environment for our local businesses and raise capital for important public investments.
In 2017, Pennsylvania enacted legislation to ensure that online retailers such as Amazon collect and remit sales taxes on marketplace sales at the point of sale or the location where a customer executes the payment for goods. This law ensures that state sales taxes are accurately assessed. In practice, Amazon calculates its taxes based on "location of fulfillment" meaning that, wherever Amazon has a warehouse, the sales tax of that area is included. However, two counties that Amazon does not have a physical presence in – Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties – happen to be the only counties in Pennsylvania that levy a local sales tax on top of the statewide tax. This means that Amazon does not have to collect or remit local sales taxes in those counties, creating a loophole that ultimately hurts local businesses.
Purchases from online retailers that do not collect or remit local sales tax hurt the companies in our areas that hire our local employees, pay our local taxes, and contribute to our local economies. While companies like Amazon can be helpful for price-conscious shoppers, we cannot neglect the hard-working citizens who depend on their communities in order to make a living. To allow for fairer competition between online retailers and local, physical stores, Representative Kenyatta and I will be introducing legislation that would require online sales in Pennsylvania to be finalized at the address of the purchaser.
Please join us in co-sponsoring legislation that will create a fairer environment for our local businesses and raise capital for important public investments.
Document
Introduced as HB 2891
Last Updated
July 17, 2020 02:57 PM
Generated 03/24/2025 03:45 PM