Reply #12: Amazon sales tax battle centers on jobs [View All]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-war-20110713,0,2902994.story

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento—
A looming California electoral battle pitting powerful Internet retailer Amazon.com against the nation's largest chain stores is expected to be fought on the issue of jobs — with each side saying its position is better for the state's struggling economy.

Officially, the fight is over the sales tax and Amazon's refusal to collect it under a new California law that requires the Seattle company and other Internet-only retailers to do so as long as they have operations in the state.

The company said Monday that it would seek to qualify a referendum for the state ballot that would allow voters to overturn the new law.

But beneath the sales tax dispute is an escalating rivalry between Amazon and bricks-and-mortar retailers, which have seen an increasing portion of their sales go to the Internet.