I too am guilty of supporting Amazon with my purchases. Does anyone know the reason that they pay no federal taxes? It just blows my mind that something as huge as Amazon does not pay any taxes.

I just looked and although I do not know about the companies income tax the days when Amazon did not collect sales taxes is over. Sales taxes are what most people are talking about when they mention that Amazon does not pay federal taxes.

Local taxes are a nightmare even for local companies here which is why at least on my state taxes there is a place to put purchases that you did not pay state taxes. If I had to figure the local taxes in my zip code it would have to be broken down into a nightmare of taxing districts and special taxes depending on the item. As an example the Lowes that is over the hill from me has their building in three taxing areas.

maifleur01, That would make sense that they are talking about local sales tax, not federal income taxes. Thank you for clearing that up.

My state we only pay state sales tax on taxable merchandise, never a federal tax. Yes, we do pay sales tax when ordering from Amazon. I think it depends state to state law on if Amazon has to charge sales tax. When Amazon started we didn't pay any tax, then it changed to we had to pay tax on merchandise that was produced, had an outlet in the state or if Amazon had a facility in the state which it does. My state LOVES taxing.

You can rest assured that sales taxes are not a nightmare at all. Last I heard there were something like 10,000 or more different sales tax "locations" in the US but there are a number of software products that integrate with transaction entry software of all kinds to handle all the dirty work automatically. Including supplying the correct rate for each transaction and producing required electronic filings and payments. For brick and mortar locations, it's simple, it's the location. If the store itself sits on the boundaries of multiple jurisdictions, I promise you there's an agreement in place to split revenue between them. For mail order and internet sales by a company that collects everywhere (not all do but Amazon now does), it's triggered off the "ship-to" address.

function, there's no federal sales tax. Same for everyone in 50 states. Whether or not there's a sales tax and the rates if so are strictly a state and local matter to decide.

I, too, love Amazon! It saves me SO much time, gas. and usually $$$. I'm always blown away when an order I've placed is often delivered less than 12 hours later. What's not to love?

Amazon does pay federal income tax but following the trend started decades ago in the technology sector, stock option grants to employees that grow into large amounts produce large tax deductions. There are other techniques companies with technology use (legally but not without controversy) to manage where income is earned and at what rate taxed.

If you go shopping to buy a big item, you consider your alternatives and pick lower cost choices. That's legal. Similarly, companies that operate internationally can do the same thing, again quite legally, with how much income they pay tax on and at what rate. Companies whether public or private exist to provide a rate of return to shareholders and managing and minimizing costs, of whatever kind and tax is one, is one of their concerns to maximize their returns.

PS - I'm a keen Amazon customer too. That's always my first stop when I want to buy something and don't need it right now. The choices, prices, and customer service are great.

Socks, I pretty much agree with everything you said. But like I said and so did you, when you've searched all the brick and mortars and they just don't have it, you haven't any choice if you want it that bad. I don't like the idea that they are taking over and I actually would rather be able to drive down the road in my community and buy it in a store but they just aren't carrying the inventory that they used to. The variety is completely gone, especially in household items such as linens and such. The big name stores don't carry the vast variety like they used to. Now you have to shop at several to try to find what you like and still won't find it.

Elmer while there is software would the software decide on the correct taxes based on my street address or just my zip code which would not be accurate. The reason I ask this is the house to my south is in one city. If there was a house to my west it would be in another city.

If lockboxes for our porches existed, I might feel better about going to mailorder. Sometimes it is fast enough, but rarely. I miss being to buy things in the store the moment I think of it, and to be able to feel, look at, etc. in order compare items. I'm not wild about it at all. I do love that when some company has a specific product they can't have in one store, it's good place to find things. If it just got here faster

"As an example the Lowes that is over the hill from me has their building in three taxing areas. "

is that state, county and city? some that are not within a city might not pay city taxes because of that. it can get confusing. we had county 'islands' within the city - businesses there didn't pay city tax, nor did they need a city license to operate.

I agree on Amazon being good and bad. I've used it more in recent yrs because I can't get around as much as I used to. running in and out of stores has to be limited. I did a lot of that in my younger years. also groceries for sales and coupons and I don't do that anymore. I can do the research from home to see if they have what I want or need without driving from place to place, fighting traffic and walking up and down aisle after aisle and standing in a long line to pay for it. I'd rather buy local, just can't do it anymore. and I hate to see the mom/pop stores close down. I used to find the best things in places like that.

I had an item in my Amazon cart and while walking thru the houseware aisles of W I saw the very same item (and brand) on a shelf there for 5.00 less than Amazon. I grabbed it up on the spot. it wasn't something that showed on the W website in my area so I was surprised to see it there.

Street address and zip code, maifleur. The software companies work hard on the accuracy of their address lookups. Having a house or two in the wrong sales tax jurisdiction isn't something anyone would lose sleep over.

Let's guess how many distinct street addresses for buildings there may be in the US. Wild guess - 500 million? If the error rate were 1/10 of one percent (pretty low), then there would be 500,000 errors in the database. A large number but not something anyone worries about, nothing is perfect.

The taxing jurisdictions, especially the small ones, welcome and many encourage businesses to use these software products because accuracy and compliance is significantly greater than if done manually.

rob, for Amazon purchases, there's Amazon locker locations for safe delivery and pickup. Thousands of them all over the country. I've used them a number of times and they work great. Many are in 7-Eleven stores, others in Whole Foods, others in various locations. Not available for very large items though.

Thanks, Rita. I didn't want to rain on your parade. Sometimes local store prices aren't that different from Amazon or other onliners, but sometimes they are.

The point of Amazon is delivery. Why would I bother to pay to have it delivered and then pay for gas (not to mention my time) to go get it? People steal boxes so much, all over the US, the term porch pirate has been coined. It's a real problem. It's something Amazon needs to fix.

I ordered the air filters for my Kia Sorento from Amazon.

Saved me about $50!

I think the point of Amazon is ease of use, time efficiency, wider ranges of choices than from local stores, and product info and rating information from other buyers. Not delivery. If you need something right now, you go to a store to get it.

Maybe I misunderstood. A lockbox on your porch would prevent theft. Amazon lockers do the same or accommodate deliveries where a "leave at the door" isn't practical or advised.

If you can drive to a store, you can also drive to a locker. In many places, the lockers are located where you might otherwise be anyway or could conveniently pass by. There are so many of them around that it's probably fair to say that millions of people use them and are happy to have that alternative. I'm not sure what you're upset about.

It's something Amazon needs to fix.
rob, this is their solution: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202104360. It's certainly not something I'd want, but YMMV.

Hmmmm.....Target, Costco and Walmart are not any more "local businesses" than is Amazon! And where I live, Amazon IS a local business :-)) But then so is Costco. I do not see one outcompeting the other.

Aside from that, I would say Amazon is all about convenience rather than delivery. A great many places will deliver, at least locally, but Amazon often offers products you can't find anywhere locally. I don't use it often - I just don't need to buy that much stuff - but I do use it for selected products I can no longer access through any local retailers.

"If lockboxes for our porches existed, I might feel better about going to mailorder."

They do!

BoxLock (as seen on Shark Tank)

That's a clever product, one many will find useful. Amazon locker fills my needs. I use it most often for deliveries of purchases I make when away from home.

I always check ebay for the same item as Amazon. Often the ebay store also has a storefront on Amazon but they price the same item cheaper on eBay and usually with free shipping, truly free not free if you spend x amount of dollars.

Using online orders with delivery to my door is a wonderful thing for me since it's not so easy to get out to shop these days. It entails my husband being with me and assembling my power chair. It is not bad in good weather but it can be a pain in the rain or sweltering heat.

We have been very lucky to never experience a stolen package. We do have cameras on the property and security signs visible.

“

The point of Amazon is delivery. Why would I bother to pay to have it delivered and then pay for gas (not to mention my time) to go get it? People steal boxes so much, all over the US, the term porch pirate has been coined. It's a real problem. It's something Amazon needs to fix.”

Only you can decide what works for you. Compare the actual take home price and ease of shopping.

Yes the term ‘porch pirate’ is used now. We order a lot that is delivered to our porch have never had a problem with missing items. If I order things that are pricey I use a locker. Isn’t that one way Amazon has already fixed it along with easy tracking of deliveries?

half fixed it ;) If they're a delivery service, shouldn't it make it to your door? But yes, it's a personal preference. If others don't mind fixing a problem a company has, that's their choice. I don't prefer to spend my hard earned money and time fixing problems they create. I think the bigger problem for me is, my choice is gone since I don't get to compare it in person. Everything is disappearing from brick and mortars. Why should I have to wait for everything? I dislike Amazon. And it's not likely for me to change since they've created problems. If others want to suck it up, that's their choice. I don't fault anyone. Doesn't make my opinion invalid.

P.S. Amazon ONLY delivers. So it's about delivery snidely. Can't figure out how it can be anything other than about delivery since you can't pick it up from them.

No it doesn't just ONLY deliver - there are pick up locations all over the place here and across the US. And most any other mail order place delivers as well.....hard to pick up things if you are selling without any brick and mortar stores :-) This is not an Amazon-only feature!

And how you think it is Amazon's fault for items being stolen from your porch or even their responsibility to protect against such thefts is beyond my comprehension!! One does not expect UPS, FedEx or even the Post Office to do so, even though it is a federal offense to interfer with the US mail. Just report back to them that you did not receive the goods and they will make it right.

And I'd reinforce the notion that it is convenience more than just a delivery service that makes Amazon so appealing for many.

Lindsey, the lock box is a smart idea for pkg deliveries. I don't need it where I live, but my daughter sometimes uses my address for
expensive deliveries. Her front door is only 30 ft from the road. Good Christmas or birthday present for her.

In my area the lockers are only in the higher crime or college areas in the city. There is none in the burbs.

Amazon does have its good points. We have an X-ACTO knife that we've had for a long time. It needed a new blade. Hubs went into a hardware store and an office supply store, neither of which had blades. He called me as he was leaving the second store, and asked me to check Amazon. Found replacement blades and ordered them at 7:00 p.m., and they were delivered the next day at 4:00 p.m.

If I lived in an area where delivery issues or thefts were a problem, I would definitely look into the Amazon lockers or a lock box at my home. I can only recall one time when we failed to receive something (not from Amazon) and it was a very small package that likely was lost somewhere along the line in a truck.

I totally support and try to purchase locally when I can, but time is money in my opinion. When the price is comparable, or of course when cheaper, on Amazon I buy there. I also have started purchasing several items such as the deodorant I use and can’t find anywhere else, the unscented lotion, and a few vitamin supplements we use thru their subscribe and save program so I save an additional 15%.

With more large distribution centers being built around the country, it is indeed becoming a major employer for some.

For someone like me with limited mobility, Amazon is a godsend. I am not about to waste my very limited energy running all over town, looking for something and in the end, discovering it's not in stock anywhere. Calling ahead doesn't work - they often didn't know where to look and give out incorrect info. Amazon Prime is my best friend!

" Amazon ONLY delivers. So it's about delivery"

Using your logic, then Ebay too is about delivery. Costco.com, same. Dell Computers. All other internet sites that offer goods not in physical stores, you'd say are about delivery?

No, of course not, a silly notion. Amazon delivers nothing and same is true for the others. These are all retailers. Delivery is done by UPS, FedEx, USPS, private carriers. As others have said, it's your choice, but if you've had a problem getting your purchases, understand the flow and put the blame in the right place.

"In my area the lockers are only in the higher crime or college areas in the city. There is none in the burbs."

There ARE lockers not in higher crime or college neighborhoods. This must vary by area. I've been in many Whole Foods locations in different places "in burbs" and I don't think I've seen one that didn't have lockers. Lots of other grocery chain locations too, Safeway in the West is another example.

I did a little looking and found that lockers aren't real common in more outlying small towns and rural areas. I think Amazon uses contractors to do these deliveries and I suspect there needs to be enough of a concentration of locker locations to make it worthwhile.

In my area Amazon lockers are at Kohl's, our local hardware store, Kroger Market District, Mejier grocery store, Whole Foods, Great Clips, Rite Aid and even a Honda dealer.

I forgot to mention, the UPS Store.

I love Amazon. I have Prime. I've been with them over 10 years. They do for me what other retailers can't.

"Orders come in multiple shipments wasting packing material, cardboard, gasoline, Amazon harms local businesses. I have tried to lean towards shopping Target, Costco and Walmart."

No, you can request orders to come packaged together. If you order 4 things, they may have 4 different delivery dates. You can choose to have everything delivered at once. I often do that.

From Amazon:

"When possible, items from multiple orders will be combined into the same package. This helps to reduce the number of packages sent to you, so you receive fewer packages and have less packaging material to dispose of when you receive your orders."

Amazon doesn't harm local businesses. Local businesses weren't quick enough to get with it themselves and provide what Amazon does. Amazon figured out what people want - low cost and fast delivery. Nothing I order is anything I need right now. With Prime, I can get things delivered the same day or tomorrow. Why should consumers go out of their way for Target, Costco, or Walmart? Personally, I don't have time to drive to one of these retailers and wander aisles.

We have the Amazon delivery boxes all over. I love that too. Text me a code, I enter it on the box, the door opens, and voila, there's my package.

I'm not silly. I don't use those other services. Nice try.

No tries involved. To my knowledge, Amazon doesn't deliver anything. Nada. Unless you're on a first name basis with Jeff Bezos and he brings what you've ordered when he comes over for dinner.

Do your orders or those of your neighbors come in a truck that says Amazon or has the Prime logo on them? Those aren't operated by Amazon and the delivery workers don't work for Amazon.

You can be more specific or you can drop it while leaving the impression there's a misunderstanding involved on your part. Amazon offers more than a few good choices in their delivery partners plus lockers and if they don't work for you, you're in a small minority but I don't think it's anything that matters to me or anyone else. Other than your blaming your dissatisfaction on misinformation or inflexibility.

My my Elmer. You are on a roll today with your condescending put downs and boring internet sourced babble. . More than usual. I hope your fragile ego is feeling better soon.

Eh, he has to have the last word. Let 'em. He knows it all

ANYONE SEE THE LOVELY NEWS ABOUT AMAZON?

Good to know it's not just me hearing the same thing.

function says there are no lockers in suburban areas. Except I've seen them over a stretch of 500 miles, from the SF suburbs to the Mexican border and points in-between and in other states too. I suggested maybe this varies by area. Several people shared having the same experiences I did.

rob doesn't like Amazon because she doesn't like their delivery service. Except they don't have a delivery service. I wasn't the only person to say this either.

If having better information than others who are apparently misinformed makes anyone a know-it-all, then that's something everyone should strive to achieve.

Internet sourced babble? Fragile ego? Wrong on both counts.

As I recall it, Amazon started out as a source for books you couldn't find elsewhere. Fantastic, I got a whole bunch of Rafael Sabatini's that way! Then it grew to be about getting a wide range of product to your doorstep in a short period of time with just one click! Very convenient -- especially for those of us who worked long hours or didn't have a ton of shopping close by. Now it's morphed again into offering just about any product you can imagine, delivered quickly to your home or lockbox or computer or cloud storage, whatever.

Yes I think Amazon's ambition is to take over the world! I don't know how it will play out in the long run, but I know that things change, and I don't expect their play for a monopoly will last forever -- maybe a couple more decades, but something will change. Hopefully for the collective good, when another upstart company comes along with a better idea.

"play for a monopoly"?? I don't think that - or an "ambition to take over the world" -comes into play at all. Bezos et al were just perspicacious enough to see (or even foresee) a need and then leap in to take advantage of it before anyone else.

"People steal boxes so much, all over the US, the term porch pirate has been coined. It's a real problem. It's something Amazon needs to fix."

How is Amazon responsible for some scumbag stealing a package from my front porch? *shaking head*

Gardengal: I'll admit my words included a bit of exaggeration, but monopoly is as monopoly does. Is Amazon there yet: do they want to crush their competitors (bad), or just keep doing better than the competition (good)? So far personally I think they are mostly on the "good" side, but things change so I'm not guaranteeing my support forever.

Angela & others: A company can outsource execution of something (a component of a product, or delivery to customer's door) but that doesn't absolve them of responsibility for keeping their word. When I one-click, I expect the product to show up as Amazon promised -- correct product, good shape, on time. If it doesn't, I'm mad. What I like about Amazon is they DO take responsibility by offering refunds, etc if something went wrong in the delivery chain, all the way to me. I'm aware of efforts they are trying to deal with porch pirates -- lock boxes, that weird service where they get to enter your home -- but personally I haven't needed that yet.

So overall I'm still a fan. Ten, 20 years from now? Who knows.

Amazon prime gave me the open door to purchase on Amazon and seldom pay any shipping. I detest shopping in stores so I shop online. Today I ordered a pair of 14 kt. gold bangle earrings at 200.00 below the local jewelry store. I'm happy lol.

Amazon has made it much easier to live in the country, fortunately we now have some good grocery stores but most of the rest of shopping is poor compared to what I was used to having lived in a city. Also many store don't stock items that I find useful. Try finding a pair of ladies bedroom slippers at a store these days...

What was that you said? It wasn't up to Amazon?

Amazon thought it was and Amazon found a solution.

https://www.myq.com/key-by-amazon

I have liked Amazon so much the past many years that I even bought their stock online.

I've had pkgs delivered in a truck that says 'Prime' on it. don't remember if it said 'Amazon' also. but I knew it was my delivery from Amazon. saw one on the road the other day too.

just because they have tons of 'lock box' places in your area that doesn't mean every area of the country has them. maybe they will in the future. I have heard of a few in my area - but it is rather new for this area - it's bursting with city folks who've moved out here and are destroying the desert and wildlife.

As far as local business large and small, Amazon isn't hurting them at all. Many of them partner with Amazon. Walmart certainly does. We have a small local costume/party supply that sells through Amazon. Whether I am buying a new pair of paddock boots or a baking pan I am buying them from those small businesses which wouldn't have nearly the volume of business on their own. Amazon creates the marketplace for that to happen. Under most products listed YOU decide which vendor to purchase from. Amazon is merely the facilitator. It frees the business up by taking care of the payments and logistics amongst other things.