It looks like the retail giant is running out of refuges in their ongoing effort to avoid sales taxes.

Amazon has long had a presence in Virginia, but they’ve never collected VA sales tax. They have distribution center in Sterling ( suburb of DC) and  data center elsewhere in the state. They also recently announced plans to open new distribution centers in the state, but those plans again did not mention collecting sales tax.

But that might change. The VA state senate is currently considering  bill that would require online retailers like Amazon to collect the 5% state sales tax if they have partners in the state. The Virginian-Pilot has more details: “On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously endorsed a bill, SB597, to require Internet companies with physical locations in Virginia to collect state sales tax. The bill from Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.”

A similar bill had been considered in 2010, but it died in the state assembly. Given that VA is facing some budget difficulties this year, I would say that the current bill has a better chance of passing.

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image by Tony the Misfit