Amazon.com;sales tax exemption Archives - SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce

Amazon customers: Start paying your sales tax because now there is a record

By Frank Knapp / State Government, Taxation / May 27, 2011

Around midnight last night in Senate, Amazon finally overcame strong opposition to win an exemption from collecting sales tax on in-state purchases. Only the House agreeing to some Senate amendments stands in the way of the retail giant building a new distribution center in Lexington County. While we were on the losing side, the team […]

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House stands with state’s small businesses

By Frank Knapp / State Government, Taxation / April 28, 2011

Congratulations to the South Carolina House! Yesterday after nearly two hours of hot debate, Representatives voted not to give Amazon.com an exemption from collecting sales tax on in-state purchases. The vote turned out not to be even close. A clear bi-partisan majority in the House established a new principle for the state’s big business recruitment

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Amazon will build in Lexington Co. without tax deal or we’ll see them in court

By Frank Knapp / State Government, Taxation / April 27, 2011

It’s not often in a political debate that a key argument of one side gets exposed as a complete fraud. This is one of those rare times. From the beginning of the Amazon.com controversy it was almost universally accepted that giving the company an exemption from collecting sales tax from in-state sales was a bad

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Amazon insists on tax breaks that help it compete against other retailers

By Frank Knapp / Taxation / April 25, 2011

The editorial below is from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Amazon insists on tax breaks that help it compete against other retailers Sunday, April 24, 2011 Imagine you own a small retail business. You’ve been selling books, cameras, auto parts or some other product for years. You’ve earned your clientele, paid your taxes and hired local employees. In the

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Amazon’s tantrum

By Frank Knapp / State Government, Taxation / April 19, 2011

Last week legislation was introduced in both the South Carolina House and Senate to exempt Amazon.com from collecting sales tax on sales to South Carolina residents from its proposed distribution center in Lexington County. The bills have an uphill fight. My earlier blogs lay out the arguments against the Amazon deal:April 5th–Selling Small Businesses down the

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Amazon.com: The bigger picture

By Frank Knapp / Taxation / April 7, 2011

Today the Greater Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center will be holding a press conference to show its support for Amazon.com locating in Lexington County. This is certainly good economic news for that county and for the Midlands. The 1250 full-time jobs Amazon.com says it will create are welcomed. The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce

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Selling Small Businesses down the Amazon

By Frank Knapp / Taxation / April 5, 2011

Amazon.com wants you to buy from them and not from our local small businesses. And the company wants to use your tax dollars to make that happen. That’s what all the controversy is about over the proposed sales tax exemption for a new Amazon distribution center in Lexington County. Should the state create an unlevel

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