President Donald Trump repeated an earlier call for an internet tax, in a thinly veiled shot at Amazon‘s Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post.
“The internet — they’re going to have to start paying sales tax because it’s very unfair what’s happening to our retailers all over the country that are put out of business,” Trump said Wednesday.
Trump also reiterated concerns about Amazon’s effect on the U.S. Postal Service as it struggles to keep up with online orders.
The comments mirror tweets from the president in December that named the e-commerce giant.
There’s been speculation that the president’s shots at Amazon are aimed at Bezos, whose newspaper has published stories critical of the president.
Amazon collects sales tax on products it sells directly to consumers, but has faced challenges from states over its policy of allowing third-party vendors to charge varying levels of sales tax.
In June South Carolina filed a complaint against the online retailer and in November Amazon agreed to take on additional third-party tax burden in its home state of Washington.
The issue has only garnered more attention as traditional retailers continue to fall short of Amazon’s market share. Amazon celebrated its ‘biggest holiday’ shopping season at the end of last year.
Trump spoke before media and members of the administration Wednesday evening during the signing of the Interdict Act, which seeks to reduce drug smuggling through the purchase of opioid sensors.
—CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Eugene Kim contributed to this report.
Source: Tech CNBC
Trump repeats call for internet tax, making a veiled threat against Amazon