Is anyone surprised that internet behemoth Amazon now supports an internet sales tax? Why would they do such a thing? The explanation is simple: the new law will be complex and difficult to comply with, which will shut down a lot of Amazon's online competitors.
The bill pits brick-and-mortar stores like Wal-Mart against online services such as eBay. Amazon.com, which initially fought efforts in some states to make it collect sales taxes, supports it too. Amazon and Best Buy have joined a group of retailers called the Marketplace Fairness Coalition to lobby on behalf of the bill."Amazon.com has long supported a simplified nationwide approach that is evenhandedly applied and applicable to all but the smallest-volume sellers," Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president of global public policy, said in a recent letter to senators.
Many people mistakenly believe that large companies generally resist regulation. In reality, large companies often lobby in favor of complex and expensive regulations because the compliance cost prevents smaller companies from competing.
