Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG), the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate, is suing the State of Indiana to force it to collect sales tax from Amazon.com and other online retailers.
The suit, filed in Marion Country Circuit Court, does not seek monetary damages, but is being filed to benefit all of Indiana's taxpayers and the state's bricks-and-mortar retailers, many of which are SPG's tenants at its 27 shopping centers in Indiana, SPG said in a release.
The lawsuit is being filed after SPG requested the State of Indiana begin collecting sales taxes on sales made by Amazon.com within the State of Indiana as required by existing Indiana law. Amazon.com is required by Indiana law to collect and remit sales and use taxes to the state, for sales made over the Internet, but has consistently refused to do so even though it is required by current Indiana laws.
“As a proud Indiana company which employs thousands of Hoosiers, Simon Property Group believes we have a responsibility to ensure the laws are equally applied to everyone,” SPG said in its release. “Main Street retailers are being harmed by this unequal playing field in Indiana and their existence is being jeopardized and threatens the employment of hundreds of thousands of retail employees in our state.”
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the U.S. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 391 retail real estate properties comprising 261 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. Simon Property Group is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.
