Amazon has notified vendors that they are opening new fulfillment (distribution) centers in Tennessee, South Carolina, Indiana and Arizona.

The Tennessee facilities, designated CHA1 (7200 Volkswagen Drive, Chattanooga TN) and CHA2 (225 Infinity Dr NW Charleston TN), are both going live in September according to the notification. Vendors are instructed to allow for the new fulfillment center codes and destination addresses in their systems.

The Tennessee distribution center recipient is Amazon.com dedc, LLC at both addresses. Amazon.com dedc, LLC is registered by the Tennessee Secretary of State as a foreign Delaware corporation with a principle business address in Seattle and a registered agent in Nashville (Corporation Services Company). The filing is dated Dec. 15th 2010.

In related news, Gov. Bill Haslam told the Tennessean yesterday that he hopes to resolve the sales tax question by the end of the year before the state legislature goes back into session, preferably with an arrangement that requires Amazon to collect sales tax on purchases by Tennessee residents. Haslam had previously said he would honor the terms of the deal made by the Bredesen administration that would not require Amazon to collect sales tax in Tennessee, a deal which appears contrary to state law.

R. Neal's picture

Amazon Red States

Red Marks No-Go States for Amazon Under Sales Tax Strategy

Amazon, which has become either a life saver or a store wrecker in Tennessee, depending on your point of view, uses shades of red, yellow and green literally to direct its employees on where they should and shouldn't go when traveling in the United States, according to the WSJ on Wednesday. The full account of the map process requires a subscription to the Journal.

According to the story by reporter Stu Woo, Amazon has a system where staffers must refer to a company map before entering specific states, because if they enter the wrong states it might trigger tax laws where Amazon would have to collect sales taxes on its business there.

AllForFairness's picture

Stand Up For OUR State!

We need to make sure that Gov. Haslam resolves this tax issue the correct way by the end of the year. Amazon should not receive unfair tax relief because they "cannot find a way to get the tax code right for every state," so they just want to pass along the duty of paying the tax to customers. Amazon needs to play fair and give back to our state like every other business located in our fine state. Aren't they going to use our roads? Aren't they going to hire workers who were educated at our public schools? Aren't they going to need assistance from our police, firefighters, etc? Well they need to help contribute to paying for all these things that they receive by building a distribution center in our state! We do not need to put our local businesses at a disadvantage.

Somebody's picture

While the idea of getting

While the idea of getting much of anything resembling responsible action through the US Congress seems questionable, I can see Haslam's point in desiring that the tax collection issue be fixed at that level. If there's a uniform rule on collecting state and local sales tax nationwide, it erases the need to give Amazon a waiver without risking the job losses incumbent in Amazon deciding to take their business elsewhere.

R. Neal's picture

Just to clarify, it's the

Just to clarify, it's the state legislature that is planning a bill to make Amazon collect sales tax, not Congress. Haslam apparently wants to avoid that for some reason.

Regardless, state law already seems pretty clear that they will have to collect sales tax. I'm not clear on why there needs to be any new law.

Somebody's picture

Just to clarify your

Just to clarify your clarification, Haslam's also talked about Congressional action on the Amazon issue. Is it a long shot to get Congress to act on it? Yes. But it's a viable point, and ultimately a better solution than patchwork state actions that still pitch one state against the other, with each trying to juggle the need for direct revenue, fairness to in-state businesses and the desire to bring in the Amazon-related jobs.

R. Neal's picture

I was referring specifically

I was referring specifically to the Tennessan article referenced in the post. But, yes.

cafkia's picture

The old ways of doing things

The old ways of doing things were developed before the advent of stuff like FedEx, UPS, and the Internet. The tax code was unwieldy then and now is just a roadblock.

Are we saying that if someone in Birmingham purchases something from an Ohio manufacturer, they should pay tax to us because it shipped out of a distro center in TN? Or is it just that if a TN native purchases something that ships from the distro center here they should pay the tax? Either way, I'm pretty sure that we will end up owing accountants and IGs damn near everything we collect. It looks to me to be absolutely hellish to have to keep up with. What happens if I have a P.O. box in Middlesboro, KY with a "forward to" address set up? Did the item sell to TN or KY? It is a system that is begging to be played and I understand why Amazon wants no part of it.

An inability or refusal to adapt to changing environments is one thing that all extinct species have in common.

R. Neal's picture

The dispute only involves TN

The dispute only involves TN residents who purchase something from Amazon, regardless of where it is shipped from, because Amazon now has physical presence ("nexus") in the state.

That's why you pay sales tax on a PC you buy from Dell over the internet. They have facilities here.

Same thing with Newegg. They have a distribution center here, so they charge sales tax on sales to TN residents. Not sure how they are any different from Amazon. (And no, it's not because they allow "will call" pickup at the TN distribution center. I believe they only have that in NJ.)

Also, state law says if sales tax isn't collected at the time of purchase then the purchaser (i.e. you) are supposed to pay it.

fischbobber's picture

Old Ways

UPS was founded in 1907 in Seattle Wa. by Jim Casey.

If you have a P.O. box , that box is owned and exclusively serviced by the United States Post Office. Any business there is governed by federal law first, the any applicable state laws.

Lots of strange stuff happens around the state line near Middlesboro.

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