The Florida Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which includes the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida, was quick to criticize a report that Amazon is seeking a two-year waiver from collecting sales taxes in exchange for opening a pair of distribution centers in the state.
This is a bad deal for Florida and lawmakers should reject it, Rick McAllister, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation, stated in a release from the Florida Alliance for Main Street Fairness.
At the same time theyre asking for a backroom deal in Florida, Amazon is already collecting sales taxes in five other states. As states across the country adopt E-Fairness legislation, Amazon is trying to score a sweetheart deal wherever it can get one before its government-sponsored tax advantage is eliminated altogether. There is absolutely no good reason to continue to punish Florida-based small businesses for two more years by rewarding their largest out-of-state, online-only competitor with a two-year free ride.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Amazon is dangling the promise of 2,500 to 3,000 jobs to state lawmakers in exchange for the tax break.
The retail giant, which has offered similar deals in other states, has told top state officials that it wants to spend as much as $200 million on two distribution centers but only if it can get a guarantee regarding taxes, the AP reported.
The alliance claims the state will fail to capture $450 million next year by not collecting sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians from companies outside the state.
Legislators have been reluctant to tackle the issue, as it could be seen by consumers as a new tax when making an online purchase.
Read the Alliance release below:
(Tallahassee, Fla. -- Jan. 25, 2012) Peddling a promise to build two distribution centers in Florida, online-only retail giant, Amazon, is asking Florida lawmakers for a two-year break from collecting Florida state sales taxes. The Florida Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which is championing legislation in the House and Senate to close the online sales tax loophole, said it would vigorously oppose Amazons efforts.
Amazon is already collecting sales taxes in several states and it negotiated a deal to begin collecting sales taxes this year in California. However, the proposal being shopped by Amazons lobbyists in Florida would delay the companys collection of sales taxes until 2014 in the Sunshine State. Twelve states have adopted E-Fairness legislation, and nine states (including Florida) are considering legislation this year.
For small-business owners like me, this deal would make a bad situation worse, said Carla Jimenez, the owner of Tampa-based Inkwood Books. Its wrong to give one company a competitive advantage over another; its worse when that advantage goes to an out-of-state, online-only retailer, like Amazon, at the expense of a local small business; and its just shameful for government to make that advantage the law of the land. This deal would be too little, too late, for the Florida businesses already closed and those that cannot hold on another few years."
A recent study by conservative economists Arduin, Laffer & Moore found that treating businesses and consumers the same -- regardless of where they decide to shop or locate -- broadens economic opportunity. According to estimates, for every 10 percent of Internet-only retail sales returned to Florida-based businesses -- either through an Internet sale or a sale at a physical store -- total Florida retail sales will increase by between $2.8 billion and $3.1 billion by 2020, with an expected impact of 8,300 to 9,200 additional jobs.
The Florida Alliance for Main Street Fairness is a coalition of small businesses, trade associations and civic groups, which includes the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida. The alliance is supporting E-Fairness legislation that would help level the playing field for Florida-based businesses, which are at a government-sponsored competitive disadvantage to out-of-state, online-only sellers.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
