The United States Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by Amazon and Overstock.com challenging a 2008 New York law requiring online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases by New York State residents. The online retailers had argued that given the number of local jurisdictions with different sales tax rates, the law was overly complicated, unduly burdensome, and restricted the growth of online commerce. The law was upheld by New York’s highest court before the challenge was brought to the Supreme Court.
The Scope of the Decision
New York’s ruling went beyond a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring online retailers to collect sales tax in states where they have a physical presence. Under that rule, a retailer needed to have a physical store or office in a state to be required to collect sales tax. New York’s law included marketing efforts directed at a state and used affiliate marketing as a basis for establishing the company’s presence in a state.
