Tennessee governor wants Amazon to collect sales taxes

Gov. Bill Haslam (R-TN) said that he would like to have questions about Amazon’s tax status resolved by the end of the year, preferably with the online retailer collecting sales taxes from Tennessee consumers.

“We'd like to work out some arrangement that works for them to stay and grow in Tennessee and yet for us to collect the sales tax that we need,” Gov Haslam said. “We would hope to do something prior to the legislature coming back” in January. Questions about Amazon’s tax status have been mounting as the company has rolled out plans this year to open distribution centers in Lebanon, Chattanooga and Cleveland. The centers represent Amazon’s first physical presence in Tennessee. Some lawmakers have argued that this should force Amazon to start collecting sales taxes under rules set out two decades ago to distinguish catalog companies from traditional retailers. Amazon argues that it should not have to collect taxes because it does not have any storefronts in Tennessee.