No doubt some of you online buyers of books and more have seen this:
(full stories: [log in to unmask] [9/8) or NYTimes site [9/10}
-- As of this morning there is no word regarding a Governor Brown veto or signing...)
TWO SNIPS: I think this news is relevant to readers and scholars of Twain. But then "Close and relevant arguments have very little hold on the passions" --Sydney Smith (said to whom?)
Several local bookstores I liked have been shuttered here so far this year.
--Richard R - SF Bay
---------------------------------------------
1: FROM NEW YORK CITY
=====================
California Lawmakers Give Amazon Tax Reprieve
By DAVID STREITFELD, The New York Times (Sept 10)
SAN FRANCISCO — California lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a compromise bill Friday night giving Amazon.com a one-year reprieve from having to collect a sales tax from its customers in the state.
Under the new measure, Amazon agreed to start collecting the tax in September 2012 unless there was federal legislation on the issue. Senator Richard J. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, has proposed a national law requiring e-commerce companies to collect sales tax, but it has not gained much traction.
Legislatures around the country, supported by struggling bricks-and-mortar stores, have been seizing on the sales tax issue as a means of raising much-needed funds. Amazon is fighting in the courts against a New York law compelling it to collect taxes, and has used the prospect of either opening or closing warehouses as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Texas and South Carolina.
.....
The measure now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not spoken publicly about it. The vote occurred Friday night, with only a few dissenters in either chamber.
--------------------------------
2: FROM SAN FRANCISCO
=====================
By Steven Harmon [log in to unmask] Updated: 09/08/2011
SACRAMENTO -- In a deal indicating all sides appear ready to call a truce, Amazon.com is offering to back down from its referendum drive to repeal an online sales tax in exchange for a one-year moratorium on collecting the tax, sources close to the talks with Amazon said Wednesday night.
Under the deal, the Seattle-based online sales giant would agree to begin collecting the tax from California residents in September 2012, unless Congress takes action on Internet sales taxes before then. The federal deal would supersede any agreement with California, according to sources who declined to be identified because the deal was not yet public.
It was a breathtaking turnabout a week after the Mercury News and the Bay Area News Group broke the news that Amazon had offered a deal that was quickly shot down by retailers and Democrats, who maintained that Amazon was merely trying to delay paying taxes.
Just on Tuesday, a group of Democrats insisted there would be no deal and that they would pursue legislation to kill the referendum with a two-third votes in the Legislature. When that bill appeared to lack Republican support, however, talks resumed.
While Democrats and Gov. Jerry Brown fretted that they would lose $200 million a year in sales taxes with such as a deal, it became clear that the state was having difficulty getting Amazon to collect taxes from their buyers and pay them to the state even after the
law took effect on July 1.
|
