In response to questioning from Representative McElraft and others at the Tuesday meeting of the Legislative Government Oversight Committee, the legislature’s chief economist estimated that the extra sales tax collections in North Carolina resulting from the new Amazon collection policy (effective February 1st) will amount to about $30 million dollars, and possibly as much as $43 million.

Although there has been no official announcement as to why Amazon has suddenly capitulated in the lengthy struggle with the North Carolina Department of Revenue, it is rumored that Amazon has recently established a warehouse and shipping hub within the State, possibly in Greensboro.  If so, this would trigger the applicability of the “nexus” criteria articulated by the US Supreme Court in their decision that prevented states from forcing online retailers to collect sales taxes from buyers in states within which the retailer had no physical presence.