Amazon is fighting Texas over a $600 million sales-tax bill. Image: Flickr / Andy On Flickr / CC-BY-ND

Texas has been attempting to bill itself as a friendly place for businesses to operate. This business-friendly facade is being thrown into question by a fight with online retailer Amazon. The Texas Comptroller has ordered the seller to pay $600 million in back sales taxes.

The state of state sales tax collections

Online retailers present a problem for many states. Sales taxes are usually charged for sales from one physical location to a resident of that state. Online sales are often from a retailer incorporated in one state to a customer in a different state, sometimes with a distribution center in a third state. This multi-state system puts state tax collectors in a tough situation, often cut out of the picture entirely.

The dispute between Amazon and Texas

Texas is home to an Amazon distribution center. The Irving center ships  millions of dollars worth of product each year, sold via a website based in Washington state. Amazon claims the distribution center in Irving does not amount to a physical location in the state of Texas. The Texas governor agrees, but the state Comptroller disagrees. The Comptroller sent a letter to Amazon demanding $600 million in back sales taxes. Amazon is attempting to call the bluff, arguing that in no way does a distribution center amount to an in-state location and the Comptroller is simply trying to get Amazon to fund a no fax loan to the state budget.

How states are handling online taxes

Texas is not the only state feeling cheated out of sales taxes. Experts estimate that more than $11 billion in sales taxes go unpaid each year because of online retailers. While most states do have a “use tax” on the books, most customers simply do not pay it. In Texas, legislation is being pushed through that would specifically exempt Amazon from sales taxes, but most states are trying to write legislation to ensure they get their cut. Something would need to be done on a federal level, however, because interstate commerce is the purview of the federal government. The likelihood this will happen anytime soon is low, however — meaning Amazon and other online retailers could skip out on their bills, getting a free payday loan from lack of regulation.

Sources

The News Tribune
Stateman

Amazon has pulled WikiLeaks off Amazon web hosting in protest of what Julian Assange is doing. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The Amazon company has pulled WikiLeaks from Amazon servers. After denial of service attacks began hitting WikiLeaks, the website moved to Amazon Web Services, which provides self-service web hosting. Amazon decided that it wanted no part in what WikiLeaks is doing.

WikiLeaks off Amazon servers in protest

WikiLeaks, after its “Cablegate” series, was subject to an increasing number of distributed denial of service, or DDOS, attacks on the site. As a result, the site moved to Amazon Web Services. Amazon.com has kicked WikiLeaks off its self-service web hosting in protest, after Senator Joe Lieberman called for American businesses to boycott the site, according to The Guardian. The WikiLeaks Twitter page made statements that “fine our $ are now spent to employ people in Europe” and that if Amazon was not disposed to following the First Amendment, the company should “get out of the business of selling books.”

Julian Assange wanted in Europe

The head of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has a warrant for his arrest from the Swedish government. Assange has been an on-again, off-again fugitive from Sweden for sexual assault charges, according to the Christian Science Monitor.  Interpol, the international police organization, has also issued a “red notice” for Assange, which calls for people to be arrested by any nation they are found in. It is not a binding warrant, only a suggestion. Australia, Assange’s home country, and the United States are mulling criminal charges. Assange’s mother recently said in an interview that her son is principled and doing what he believes is right and “fighting baddies, if you like.”

Outrage mounting

The release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, among other releases, has provoked strong reactions from the international community. What the ultimate fate of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks will be is unknown, but it seems that the organization may not be able to operate with impunity eventually.

Sources

The Guardian

WikiLeaks Twitter

Christian Science Monitor

The best holiday saving deals may all be at Amazon.com. (Photo: MIKI Yoshihito/Flickr/CC-BY)

You don’t have to wait until Black Friday 2010 to take advantage of some of the sweetest deals this holiday season. Skip the long lines and head to Amazon.com today and save bundles on the items you’ve been saving for all year long. Keep in mind that many of the Amazon Black Friday 2010 items are on limited-supply, so don’t wait till the last minute to get your cart filled.

Amazon Black Friday 2010 ads

Amazon Black Friday 2010 ads are out, and shoppers won’t have to wait to start saving on their holiday buys. Amazon.com is searching for the best holiday savings deals out there with one purpose in mind: Beat out other store prices and unleash a list of items offered at ridiculously low prices.

Looking to get a new flat-screen HDTV for your home or office? With these Amazon Black Friday deals, you can get a Samsung 32-Inch HDTV for as low as $329.99, a savings of $170. What about a Blu-ray disc player to go with your new flat-screen TV? Wal-Mart is offering LG Blu-ray disc players for as low as $188 — not bad, considering most are priced at about $250 or more. However, at Amazon you can save even more on an LG Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi NetCast intergration — for only $151.92.

More Amazon Black Friday 2010 deals

Electronics

• Archos 5 500 GB Internet Tablet with Android — $309.99 (save $190)
• Coby 1.44-Inch TFT LCD SNAPP Mini Camcorder/Camera — $19.99 (save $26)
• Pioneer TS-A6993R 6-Inch X 9-Inch, 460-Watt 5-Way Speakers — $69.99 (save $110)
• TomTom XL 340TM 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator — $119.99 (save $109)

Sports and Outdoors

• Sonocaddie Auto Play Golf GPS — $178.11 (save $201.88)
• Top-Flite XL 13-Piece Complete Golf Club Set — $168.72 (save $70.28)
• Teton Sports Fox 75+10L Internal Frame Backpack — $63.81 (save $66.18)

Health and personal care

• Dr. Scholl’s DRMA7802 Hot and Cold Foot Massager — $44.98 (save $25.01)
• Wahl 4296 Deluxe Wand Full-size Massager — $29.77 (save $16.22)
• LGMedSupply LG-3000 Basic Tens Unit With 3 Treatment Modes — $24.69 (save $65.30)

Be a smart holiday shopper

If you want to save even more money this holiday season, be a smart shopper. Don’t settle too quick on the first offer. Shop around and compare prices. You never know what you’ll find or how much more you can save by taking your time to shop. Fortunately, with these Amazon Black Friday 2010 deals, you get started early before the holiday stampede rushes through.

Source

Amazon.com

Amazon Black Friday 2010 deals are leaving some state tax collectors feeling left out of the loop. Image: Flickr / dan4th / CC-BY

Technically, the “biggest shopping day of the year” is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Online retailer Amazon has already announced some Black Friday 2010 deals. How Amazon is able to offer lower prices, though, is a sticky issue for many states.

Amazon Black Friday 2010

In an effort to capture even more sales during the holiday shopping season, Amazon has already started announcing its Black Friday 2010 deals. The Amazon Black Friday 2010 strategy is simple – undercut every other retailer’s Black Friday specials. Amazon is adding new Black Friday 2010 and Cyber Monday 2010 deals throughout this week. In general, the prices on Amazon.com tend to be between 5 percent and 20 percent below most other retailers.

Complaints from customers over Amazon Black Friday 2010

Now that Amazon has announced its Black Friday 2010 deals, customers have already started their complaints. Some customers are claiming that the Amazon Black Friday 2010 deals are selling out far too quickly. Others say that the deals aren’t really “deals,” as the advertised price lasts only a few hours or minutes. The fact that deals are selling out so quickly has even spurred discussion of “discrimination” of customers with slower internet connections.

The sales tax issue with Amazon Black Friday 2010

The prices that Amazon is offering for Black Friday 2010 and the holiday shopping season seem a bit unreal. Amazon is often able to offer lower prices for one simple reason – sales tax. In all but a few states, Amazon does not have to charge sales tax. That can make a difference of almost 10 percent in the final price of a product. Technically, state law requires that “use tax” is paid on any product purchased out-of-state where sales tax is not charged. Most customers do not pay this use tax, though. That means anything purchased on Amazon is inherently cheaper because states are losing out on the cut that brick-and-mortar stores have to charge. For customers, this ends up saving them money on Black Friday 2010. States, though, argue that these cost savings are driving their budgets into the ground.

Sources

Slate.com
Techwatch

This holiday season, the retail giants are battling for your business. Need a cash advance to keep up? (Photo: flickr.com)

Psst! Hey you, cash advance reader! Want a great holiday deal on a flat screen television? Visit Amazon.com where it’s on sale. Hold on a moment. Look at Walmart.com, where they just dropped the price. No, wait! Amazon actually has the better price.

Prices have fallen faster than J.Lo at the American Music Awards as these two retail behemoths go toe to toe. It seems the battle began over who could sell a fistful of best-selling book titles for less, and has now proliferated to a wider array of items—DVDs, furniture, clothes and yes, flat screen TVs. Wal-Mart and Amazon are also currently allowing third parties to sell on their Web sites, and are now also offering beauty and health products via the Web.

After hearing that GSI Commerce Executive Vice President said, “It’s not about prices of books and movies anymore. There is a bigger battle being fought,” you might conjure up a David vs. Goliath type of scenario. “The price-sniping by Wal-Mar is part of a greater strategic plan. They are not just going to cede their business to Amazon.”

Online Shopping is Making SOMEONE Richer

Believe it or not, Amazon made $20 billion in sales last year, compared with $405 billion for the nation’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart. Though online sales amount to just four percent of the nation’s retail business, Web-based sales are steadily rising.

Online shopping has gained popularity at a fast pace, kind of like cash advance loans during the recession. The blog “Seeking Alpha” says, “Twenty-one percent growth has been seen in the last year. Amazon’s sales were up 24 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2009.” Also, 44 percent for general merchandise and electronics, reports the Times. What’s amazing is these numbers were gathered while retail was flat overall and the recession was just dying down.

Yet CNBC says that Wal-Mart is receiving only half as many unique visitors to its Web site each month.

Look at them Go, Toe to Toe!

CEO of Walmart.com, Raul Vazquez, told The Wall Street Journal, “Our goal is to be the biggest and most visited retail Web site. Walmart.com is going to be the ‘Wal-Mart of the Web.’”

“The price of Amazon Prime is too much. It’s only a matter of time before Wal-Mart becomes the king of online shopping,” Vazquez is reported saying to the Times.

How are consumers benefiting so far? Take a look:

Books

Target (a Minneapolis-based company that isn’t owned by the French, dear reader), Amazon and Wal-Mart reduced the online price of 10 brand new releases to less than $9. Since then, prices have gone up, but they are equally as inviting to holiday shoppers. At Amazon and at Walmart.com, the price of Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” is a sale $14.50, while Barnes & Noble sells it online for $17.30.

DVD Movies

Target, Amazon and Wal-Mart have lowered the pre-ordered online price for hit movies like “Star Trek” and “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” which are sold at Amazon for only $9.99 and a penny less at Walmart.com.
UPDATE: Target is “Out of Stock” presently

Video Games

According to the Times, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” is priced to move. Wal-Mart offers a $15 gift card with purchase, and Amazon has quickly followed Wal-Mart’s lead.

Observing the Carnage

What’s next in the future of these retail giants? It’s too hard to tell right now. They won’t need a cash advance loan any time soon. However, what we can expect is that Wal-Mart will be über aggressive in risking a bigger claim on online retail.

Apply for a Cash Advance HERE!