Changes to a bill on Internet sales taxes mean it will no longer affect the country\u2019s biggest online seller, Amazon.com.<\/p>\n
Democrats unveiled a top-to-bottom rewrite of the bill at its first hearing Wednesday, but they say the aim is the same: fairness for Colorado businesses. Local business complain they have to collect sales taxes, while big online sellers like Amazon do not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no reason an online-only business should enjoy an exemption,\u201d said the sponsor, Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver. \u201cA sale is a sale, whether it\u2019s online or in a store.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Colorado hasn\u2019t been able to force out-of-state Internet stores to collect sales taxes because the U.S. Supreme Court has said there must be a nexus between a business and a state.<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 House Bill 1269 attempts to broaden the state\u2019s nexus to online sellers. But Wednesday\u2019s rewrite means it will not apply to Amazon \u2013 as least not yet.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, Amazon would have a nexus if it opened a distribution center in Colorado, something it has done in other states but not here, said Phil Horowitz, a Department of Revenue official. Sponsors originally wanted to establish a nexus through independent bloggers who use their pages to link to Amazon and other sites. But they deleted reference to \u201caffiliate marketers\u201d out of fears that Internet sites would rather fire their affiliates than pay sales taxes.<\/p>\n
The bill declares that online businesses are presumed to have a nexus to Colorado, but the businesses can dispute it when the state comes to collect taxes.<\/p>\n
The House Finance Committee put off a vote for a later date.<\/p>\n