http://www.alternet.org/story/66429/
Amazon's Success: Tax Avoidance, Rather Than Savvy Entrepreneurial Spirit
By Dean Baker, TruthOut.org Posted on October 30, 2007, Printed on November 1, 2007
<snip>
The point here is simple: if someone goes to their neighborhood book
store, clothes store, toy store, or even Wal-Mart (Amazon sells just
about everything these days), they generally have to pay sales tax
on whatever they buy. In some states, the sales tax can be higher
than 8 percent, costing a family $16 or more on a $200 purchase
But not at Amazon: operating in the 21st century Internet, Amazon
shoppers can purchase their products without paying state sales tax
....
To see how important the tax subsidy is, Amazon earned just under
$400 million in profits last year, which is approximately equal to 3
percent of its $13 billion in sales. If we assume an average state
sales tax of 4 percent on purchases, Amazon's tax subsidy exceeded
Amazon's profits.
<end excerpt>
Michael