Amazon will now begin charging sales tax to customers in other states. It already collects sales tax from six states and will begin charging in eight more states beginning with California and Pennsylvania soon.  The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that states lose around $23 billion in annual sales taxes, and around $11.5 billion of that is from online purchases.

While many online retailers oppose charging an online sales tax, Amazon supports a federal solution and the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to collect sales tax from out-of-state businesses. Online sales tax may even out the stakes for both physical and online businesses. Read Full Article.