Floridians who have full shopping carts on Amazon.com might want to complete their purchases by the end of the month. The Internet retail giant has announced it will start collecting sales tax in the Sunshine State on May 1.
Amazon must comply with the Florida law requiring businesses to collect sales tax if they have a physical presence in the state. That’s because it’s nearing completion on the first of two planned distribution warehouses in Central Florida.
The company says it will hire up to 2,500 workers to start shipping items by the holiday season.
Under current law, consumers are required to report online purchases and then send the state what they owe in taxes—but the state admits it’s hard to enforce that requirement. Now that Amazon will be collecting the tax itself, one business lobbying group estimates it will bring Florida annual revenue of $80 million.
The Tampa Bay Times contributed to this report.