Thursday, February 23, 2012

California Voters Oppose 'Amazon Tax', Poll Finds

July 21, 2011 | 10:19 PM

About half of voters in California voters disapprove of controversial new legislation that would require Internet retailers to collect sales tax on online purchases, a poll by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Times finds.

The poll found 46 percent of voters favor the online sales tax as a revenue source to help balance the budget and pay for state services, while 49 percent oppose it. Online retailers such as Amazon have been fighting the tax.

"At this point, Californians are evenly divided on whether online purchases should be taxed. This could be one of the most expensive campaigns in California history, and neither side starts with a clear advantage," Dan Schnur, director of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, said in a statement.

Overall, 55 percent of young voters opposed taxing online purchases by California residents and 41 percent support it. In contrast, 43 percent of voters over 50 oppose taxing online purchases, and 52 percent support it. The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percent.
Illinois has passed a similar measure.

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Juliana Gruenwald

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.