Amazon to collect sales tax in MA

BOSTON (WWLP) - This holiday season will be your last season of tax-free shopping on amazon.com, as the state has made an agreement with the largest online retailer to begin collecting sales tax.

The Patrick Administration made the announcement on Tuesday morning that Amazon will start collecting Massachusetts sales tax starting on November 1, 2013. State leaders and Amazon have been negotiating about the issue for months.

States like Massachusetts have been complaining for years about huge amounts of lost revenue due to an inability to collect sales tax from many major online retailers. Patrick says that both he and Amazon favor federal regulations that would resolve this issue once and for all.

“Federal legislation is the only way to level the playing field for all sellers, the only way for states to obtain more than a fraction of the sales tax revenue that is already owed, and the only way to fully protect states’ rights,” Amazon Vice President of Global Policy Paul Misener said in a statement sent to 22News by Patrick’s office.

Amazon plans to add hundreds of jobs in Massachusetts over the next few years.