With a tweet Wednesday morning, President Trump re-opened a controversy over online sales taxes that recently has been dormant but divides Republicans.
While accusing the Washington Post of “FAKE NEWS,” Trump complained that Amazon — run by Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos — should pay “internet taxes.”
Trump’s specific meaning was not clear.
“Internet taxes,” such as taxes on bandwidth or specific uses of the Internet, have long been banned. Congress made the ban permanent last year.
Separately, Congress has long debated measures to require states to collect sales taxes on sales over the Internet by retailers located in other states. Those proposals have divided Republicans, with many conservatives opposing them.
Trump has, in the past, accused Amazon of getting an advantage by not collecting sales taxes on its products. As of this year, however, Amazon does collect sales taxes in every state that has a sales tax.
Furthermore, Amazon has supported the leading legislation, the Marketplace Fairness Act, to require sellers to collect sales taxes on online purchases from out-of-state stores. In addition to already collecting those taxes, the retail giant is in the midst of a move toward more brick-and-mortar locations.
A representative for Amazon declined to comment.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on what Trump meant by “Internet taxes.”
