Online retailer Amazon plans to start collecting Wisconsin sales tax on purchases made by state residents, starting in November.
Earlier this week, the Kenosha City Council approved a deal for the online retailer to build a new distribution center along Interstate 94. Wisconsin Department of Revenue spokeswoman Laurel Patrick now says the company will have to start collecting sales tax. Currently, it doesn’t collect sales tax.
“Current law requires that a company has a physical presence in the state to collect state and local sales taxes,” said Patrick.
Patrick said the company plans to get a Wisconsin seller's permit by Nov. 1. It then will begin to collect state sales tax. Amazon already does this in 13 states.
Officials with the state Department of Revenue estimates that Amazon will bring in an additional $30 million in tax revenue annually. In fiscal year 2013, the agency collected more than $4.4 billion in sales tax.
Scott Stenger, of the Alliance of Wisconsin Retailers, said they're pleased with Amazon's decision.
“I think what it ultimately means is for existing Wisconsin retailers, the fairness of being able to compete fairly with the online-only type of a retailer," he said.
Stenger said the bigger issue now is getting Congress to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax.
The act passed in the U.S. Senate earlier this year.
