In what could be a test of your principles versus your ability to buy Season Four of “Mad Men” at a really low price, a coalition of anti-poverty groups is calling for Californians to boycott Amazon.com over the online sales tax issue.
Here’s the group’s web site, ThinkBeforeYouClickCA.org, which includes a petition letter to Amazon that ends with:
“If Amazon.com is unwilling to abide by the same laws as everyone else and contribute to the collective well-being of our state, then I have no choice but to close my account and end my contributions to Amazon.com.”
As a reason for the boycott, the group cites Amazon’s non-compliance with the new law mandating that out-of-state online retailers collect sales tax on merchandise they sell.
Such transactions have previously been exempt because of a Supreme Court decision ruling that states cannot require companies without a physical presence in-state to collect sales tax, even if the company conducts business in that state.