California legislators approved a bill late Friday that exempts Amazon.com and other out-of-state online retailers from collecting sales taxes on sales to California residents until at least next September.
The bill's passage was required as part of a deal reported last week between Amazon.com, state lawmakers and the state’s brick-and-mortar retailers.
If Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 155, California will delay implementation of its new Internet sales tax until at least Sept. 15, 2012 and possibly Jan. 1, 2013. In exchange, Amazon will put 10,000 afilliates back to work in the state, drop plans to fight the state's new Internet sales tax, proceed with plans to build new distribution centers in California that will create up to 7,000 jobs and lobby for Congress to pass the Main Street Fairness Act.
That bill would allow states that streamline their sales tax collection system to force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on all retail sales to residents of their state regardless of whether the retailer has a physical presence in the state.
