Idaho’s Secret Deal Allows Amazon To Charge Sales Tax on Your Purchases

Hey, I hate taxes like everybody, but I really hate that this new deal that will allow Amazon to collect Idaho sales taxes are being kept secret from us Idaho taxpayers. What's up with that?

The Idaho State Tax commission and the Governors office are refusing to release any details about the deal to begin collecting sales taxes on purchases shipped to Idaho. The deal went into effect last week (April 1st) so if you've purchased anything since then, you are already being charged sales tax.

The agreement now officially allows Amazon to charge all Idaho residents a 6% sales tax on all your purchases shipped to your home or office here in Idaho.

According to the Associated Press and the Idaho State Tax commission, "state law bans discussing specific information about an individual."  However this secret deal, or agreement, if you will,  impacts all Idaho taxpayers who shop with Amazon…so why the secrecy?

Is it such a bad deal that politicians don’t want to look foolish? Did Idaho trade something like tax deductions to Amazon to get them to start collecting the Tax?  I have all these questions and because of the secrecy I just assume the worst…I think it’s human nature.

The tax commission won’t even tell how much tax income the state expects to make from Amazon collecting this sales tax…..Holy Crap! It’s so much they don’t even want to tell us. (See there I go again assuming the worst again)

By the way, you may not have known this, but we’ve all been breaking the law…if you haven’t been paying sales tax on your purchases up to this point you, like me have been breaking the law.

Idaho shoppers have always owed state sales taxes on purchases they make on Amazon and from any other online retailer too. That’s right you are expected to self-report any and all purchases every year and pay the taxes on your yearly tax return.  Damn it….I am a criminal…but, I’m guessing so are you.

But once again…if this is legal and good for our state, why all the secrecy?   Here’s what I and I’m sure a lot of others are afraid of…and that is that the secret Amazon deal will prompt the state to start trying to get other online retailers to begin collecting sales taxes.  Secretly, I’m hoping that doesn’t happen…but that’s a secret so don’t tell anybody.