Amazon.com has recently been making headlines regarding its opposition to various states' efforts to force the online retailer to collect excise taxes on sales of goods into those states. Those headlines made me wonder: is Amazon charging state sales tax on Indians who buy and receive goods from the online retailer, on the Reservation? State sales taxes of course not be imposed on Indians in Indian Country.
However, upon reviewing Amazon's sales tax policies, there is no mention of sales tax exemption for reservation Indians. That, despite the fact that Amazon is headquartered in a state with 29 federally-recognized tribes.
I'm left to wonder: is Amazon illegally collecting state sales taxes from reservation Indians? If you have reason to know the answer to this question, please let me know.
Gabriel "Gabe" Galanda is a partner at Galanda Broadman PLLC, of Seattle, an American Indian majority-owned law firm. He is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Covelo, California. He can be reached at 206.691.3631 or gabe@galandabroadman.com, or via galandabroadman.com.
