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Amazon now collecting local sales tax on certain orders

January 23, 2019 – News

The City and Borough of Juneau Sales Tax Office recently received several reports of CBJ Sales Tax being charged on orders made through Amazon.com. The Sales Tax Office has contacted Amazon and verified that it does have a registration and sales tax collection requirement on certain orders shipped to Juneau.

Amazon’s collection of sales tax is not the result of any change to the CBJ Sales Tax code; rather it’s the result of corporate restructuring within Amazon. Prior to January 1, 2019, a subsidiary of Amazon already had a registration and sales tax collection requirement under the CBJ Sales Tax code. Effective January 1, 2019, due to some corporate restructuring, a larger portion of Amazon’s business enterprise now has that requirement under the CBJ Sales Tax code. As a result, Amazon.com will be collecting the CBJ Sales Tax on the majority of orders shipped into Juneau. CBJ Sales Tax will not be charged on sales made by 3rd party sellers through Amazon.com.

Currently, other retailers that only conduct sales in Juneau via the internet are not yet subject to CBJ sales tax. A recent Supreme Court decision may change this though, but it will take a standardized Alaska local sales tax program. CBJ is participating in a working group of the Alaska Municipal League to address this issue. This effort is expected to take at least a year to complete.

If you have any additional questions, please contact the CBJ Sales Tax Office at 907-586-5265.