Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire

by Brad Stone

State legislatures recognized that the growing flood of tax-free sales over the internet was depleting their coffers, and they passed legislation requiring online retailers to pay sales taxes, closing a loophole that had been created before the internet age for mail-order companies. Bezos was prepared to fight to protect a significant price advantage over offline rivals, and even backed a California ballot initiative to undo a new state law that would force online retailers to collect sales tax. But in the middle of the fight, he changed course; sales tax avoidance had tied the company in knots, requiring it to limit where it opened facilities and even where employees could travel. By agreeing to collect sales tax, Bezos surrendered his prized advantage. Instead, he took the longer view, making it possible for Amazon to open up offices and fulfillment centers in more populous states, much closer to its customers, laying the groundwork for one of the largest expansions in business history.