The Oklahoma House of Representatives approved a last-minute measure earlier this month that would require third-party retailers conducting business online to collect sales tax when selling their wares to Oklahoma residents.

Oklahoma special session bill 1019XX stipulates that entities making use of Amazon and other online retailers to facilitate sales of products, must accept the responsibility of collecting and remitting any applicable sales tax for these sales.  Alternatively, the entities can take steps to notify each customer of the sales tax they must pay directly to the state.

The decision by Oklahoma politicians to seek the collection of sales tax from Amazon is the latest in the trend of states around the country looking to hold the largest online retailer in the world accountable for millions of dollars in uncollected sales tax.  The situation became more urgent for state officials in Oklahoma due to a teachers' strike at the Capitol building led by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) that has sent the state scrambling for funds to meet the educators' demands.

Alicia Priest, president of the OEA, was happy with the decision of state representatives and said that house bill 1019XX is a win for students and educators alike.  Ms. Priest went on to say that the vote on the part of the house is confirmation that the passion displayed by the tens of thousands of parents, educators, and students that traveled to the Capitol building paid dividends. 

Amazon already collects sales tax on its own sales to residents of the state but will now have the duty of collecting these taxes from the many independent sellers that make use of their platform.  House bill 1019XX contains language that makes the process of collecting these taxes at the point of sale much simpler than choosing the second option to notify each seller individually.

House bill 1019XX is scheduled for a vote in the Oklahoma Senate before becoming law.

Brian Greer

Written by Brian Greer