Shares of online retailers Wayfair, Overstock, eBay, and Etsy all tumbled Thursday after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court took away one of the key advantages some e-commerce companies had over traditional retailers.
And one of the biggest winners from that ruling, maybe ironically, could be Amazon, said Tom Forte, managing director at research firm D.A. Davidson.
"This now gives Amazon\[, which already collects sales tax,\] insurance against there not being a Jet.com-like start-up using the sales tax advantage against them," he said.
Up until the high court's ruling Thursday, retailers were not required to collect sales tax from consumers unless they had a physical presence in the shopper's state. The loophole sprang out of a 1992 ruling, well before the rise of digital commerce, which specifically applied to mail-order retailers.
That decision did allow for the then-nascent e-commerce industry to grow in the early days of the internet, but Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that it was now outdated.
Subjecting all online retailers to the same rules as brick-and-mortar, though, may not ultimately help the mom-and-pop shops that have struggled most in the shift to online, Forte said, "unless they're a mom-and-pop focused on big ticket items."
"If you could buy a computer at Circuit City for $1,000 and on Amazon for $1,000 and not pay sales tax, it gave you an incentive to buy on Amazon."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/supreme-court-gives-states-a-win-against-e-commerce).
The Biden administration has stopped taking mobile app appointments to admit asylum-seekers at a Texas border crossing that connects to a notoriously dangerous Mexican city after advocates warned U.S. authorities that migrants were being targeted there for extortion.
Donald Trump arrived in Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department's efforts to get them back.
The Supreme Court said Monday it won't review North Carolina's decision to stop issuing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag.
The Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for the lgbtq+ community. The unprecedented move comes after the passage of more than 75 anti-gay bills this year alone. Here with more is Cheddar News senior reporter Chloe Aiello.
President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House on Saturday for a delayed Pride Month celebration aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.
Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday. He was 86.
“Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough," said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. "The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”
Cheddar News checks in to see what to look out for Next Week on the Street as former president Donald Trump makes an appearance in federal court after being indicted. Investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve meeting to see what comes out of that while earnings continue to pour in.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the U.S. is investing more than $100 million in the Caribbean region to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives.
It is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
