> Just for the record, there are four states where recipients have to
> pay
> taxes on Amazon purchases: Washington State, North Dakota, Kentucky
> and
> Kansas. Those are the states in which Amazon has a physical
> presence.
It's not specifically a 'physical presence' -- it's whether Amazon is registered with the state as "doing business" there ... it could very well be that their 'presence' is virtual, but if they are registered with the state, the state requires them to collect sales tax ... there's an exemption for out of state delivery (because who would they pay it to if they aren't registered?). Some of the clicks-n-mortar sites that have stores nationwide get bit by this: they often have to collect sales tax for every transaction becuase there's nowhere they aren't registered.
However, you're right that physical presence usually usually forces said registration ...
/jordan