Interesting bit of back and forth between Amazon and the North Carolina Department of Revenue over what information Amazon must provide to the state of North Carolina. The heart of the issue? Fairness, of course. According to Kenneth R. Lay, the state's Revenue Secretary, "[Local] businesses are at a competitive disadvantage when they have to collect sales taxes that other businesses do not. The Department is committed to supporting North Carolina small business and facilitating the equitable collection of taxes from both individual and corporate taxpayers." The "problem" for equitable collection is always that wacky Quill decision and its nexus standards that protect taxpayers and prevent states from running roughshod over out-of-state businesses.
