California Assembly OKs bill to tax Amazon sales

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Web retailers such as Amazon.com Inc would be required to collect sales tax on purchases made online by Californians under a bill approved on Tuesday by California's State Assembly.

Assembly Bill 155, which now moves on to committees in the state Senate, expands the definition of "retailers engaged in business in the state" in a way that would require Amazon and others to collect sales tax.

The California Board of Equalization estimates such a tax could bring $83 million to the state's coffers.

California's Assembly approved the bill on a vote of 52 to 20, said Tom White, chief of staff to Majority Leader Charles Calderon.

Democrats control California's legislature and are generally supportive of measures to increase revenue for the state government, which faces a remaining budget deficit of about $10 billion.

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Governor Jerry Brown's office was not immediately available for comment on the legislation, which for tax purposes would tie Amazon to related companies with a physical presence in the state.