We “have always, and will continue to collect, report, and remit sales taxes in jurisdictions where we have an obligation to do so,” a Trump Store spokesperson said in an email. Online Trump store collecting New York sales tax after criticism

The Trump Store started collecting state sales taxes on New York residents' online purchases after being criticized for not doing so, even as the president repeatedly accused Amazon of not paying its fair share of taxes to state and local governments.

The research director of the liberal-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Carl Davis, said in a blog post Thursday that “the Trump Organization quietly updated TrumpStore.com’s sales tax information page this week to indicate that the company will now collect sales tax in New York.”


Companies are obligated to collect sales taxes for online purchases made in states where they have a physical location, like a store or a warehouse. The Trump Store has a retail space at Trump Tower in New York City, according to its website, but the site had earlier indicated that only residents of Florida and Louisiana had to pay sales tax on their purchases through trumpstore.com.

The anomaly was pointed out by critics after it was reported on a website that opposes the administration, Red State Disaster, and later reported by The Wall Street Journal and other media.

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The store also charges sales taxes for online purchases in Virginia, its website now indicates. It’s unclear why it collects on purchases there and in Florida and Louisiana.

A spokesperson for the Trump Store said in an email, "As stated previously, we have always, and will continue to collect, report, and remit sales taxes in jurisdictions where we have an obligation to do so.”

President Donald Trump has criticized e-commerce giant Amazon's tax practices on Twitter, alleging at various times that it is a “no-tax monopoly,” doesn’t pay “internet taxes” and contributes “little or no taxes to state & local governments.”

Amazon collects sales taxes from direct purchases made in every state that has a sales tax. But it collects in only two states on sales by other merchants that use Amazon as a platform. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has questioned that practice.

The Supreme Court is considering a challenge by online retailers to a South Dakota law that seeks to force out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax if they make a certain amount of sales to South Dakota residents. The Trump administration's solicitor general, Noel Francisco, wrote a brief backing South Dakota’s position.