Texas sends $269 MLN bill to Amazon for uncollected taxes
Last Updated on Saturday, 23 October 2010 03:40 Written by a2e Saturday, 23 October 2010 03:40
Texas has sent Amazon.com Inc. a $269 million bill for uncollected sales taxes on purchases made by state residents from the Seattle-based Internet superstore over a four-year period.
Now that Texas has gotten tough with the No. 1 online retailer, other states could be tempted to pile on with their own assessments as local governments face huge shortfalls, analysts said. Recent estimates put Texas’ two-year budget shortfall at as much as $21 billion.
Amazon.com Inc., with sales last year of $25 billion, said Friday that it plans to "vigorously defend ourselves in this matter."
The uncollected sales taxes are from December 2005 to December 2009 and include interest and penalties.
R.J. DeSilva, spokesman for the Texas comptroller of public accounts, said the bill was sent to Amazon.com in August. It wasn’t publicly disclosed until Friday, when Amazon.com revealed it in a regulatory filing.
"The company has requested a re-determination, which means this is an ongoing audit and could be decided as part of the administrative hearings process," DeSilva said in a statement. "The company would send documents, and this process will continue."
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