Amazon Tax Timing Presents Budgeting Issue

It’s the start of this year’s legislative session, and leaders are already split over how to budget new money coming to South Dakota. Online retailer Amazon is starting to collect sales tax on South Dakota purchases next month. Its timing could pose a planning issue. Amazon begins charging both state and local sales tax for South Dakota purchases in February. Democrat and State Senator Billie Sutton says lawmakers should include those dollars in the budget that starts July first. "That should play into our 2018 revenue projections, at least to some degree," Sutton says. "I mean, the estimates prior to this were that we were missing out on $30 million to $40 million a year in sales tax that wasn’t being collected and remitted because of online purchases." Sutton says Amazon’s share of online sales is a decent chunk of that estimate, so it should result in millions more for South Dakota’s coffers. He says the money should flow to the state’s priorities. Amazon is sending its first sales