Trumpstore.com, a Taxless Company Calls Amazon Tax Evaders

Investments April 17, 2018

Trump recently accused the e-commerce titan, Amazon, laying unconfirmed claims against it that the retailer has not paid its taxes on sales made through online deliveries both at the state and local level. However, the twist to the matter now is that a retail online store, Trumpstore.com, controlled by Trump Organization, receives only taxes on sales of items exported to only two states, on the other hand, Amazon receives sales levies from 45 states.

TrumpStore.com is an online, e-commerce store founded by Trump. It sells hats, gift items, Trump-customized luggage labels, spa slipshoes, baseball headwear, glassware and chains for keys, in addition to many other goods. Apparently, the store only receives sales levies on transported orders to clients around Louisiana and Florida, as explained on the official website of the firm.

Going by the details on the site, TrumpStore.com is known to always brag about being the “main retail site for Trump Organization’, yet it couldn’t even remit taxes on sales through its transportation of goods within New York. Its offline outlet and head office are situated in the Trump Tower in Manhattan.

TrumpStore.com can be called a ‘taxless” outfit

Defensive Mechanism

President Trump kept his position as the founder and CEO of the organization, in spite of his presidency role in America. He continued to lambast Amazon via his Twitter handle for evading taxes on sales. He once referred to it as a taxless outfit and often haul insults at the e-commerce giant for remitting a very small or zero taxes at both state & local levels.

His Twitter post said that he has been worried about Amazon for a very long time, even prior to the general elections. When compared with others, says Trump, Amazon remitted a small amount or even zero taxes to the government, utilize the country’s Postal System for every shipment they made via Delivery Boy, which resulted in a huge deficit to America, and it’s jeopardizing businesses for a lot of retailers.

The report created by the policy documents indicated that in 2017, a total sum of $413 million was paid by Amazon into all 3 levels of government, federal; state; local; and international taxes. The company also paid $272 million in 2015. Currently, Amazon requires that buyers should pay fees on every sale from all the 45 states, in places where the system of taxing is acceptable, including Washington, D.C. Every state, excluding New Hampshire, Delaware, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, receive taxes on sales.

However, it’s not mandatory for Amazon to pay every tax. In 1992, a judgment by the Supreme Court strongly resisted the states’ enforcement on online sellers to remit both state and local trade levies in case the firm does not own any offline outlet or workers within each state.

It was also said that Amazon stood with the policy to demand every internet-based transaction to remit taxes at the local level in order to encourage firms to run their businesses on an equal state

No signs of tax payment

It may be quite difficult for us to detect if the states and local levies have received taxes from TrumpStore.com, since the company operates privately, neither has Trump posted any form of information regarding such.

However, a representative of the company defended Trumpstore.com by saying that it will constantly and continuously receive, give reports and pay taxes on every sale within its territory where its authority reaches and where its civic responsibilities lie.

In the ‘terms and conditions’ option of the company’s retail store, buyers are informed that all applicable levies attached to each good they buy would fall on them as their responsibilities. In no distant time, TrumpStore.com may meet up with Amazon as far as sales within the state is concerned.

Amazon has been always known to pay taxes at the right time, but same cannot be said about Trumpstore.com

In March, the present government filed one brief at Supreme Court persuading the body to permit states in demanding online sellers to receive and remit taxes on sales, regardless of whether they own any offline offices.

Amazon is a popular retail outfit that has been in existence for decades with solid proofs of tax payment. On the other hand, Trumpstore.com has no history of any remitted taxes on sales except in two states.

Nonetheless, tariffs will be placed on goods bought by customers whenever the retail outfit is patronized.