To the Editor:
Word has been released that the Retailers Association of Massachusetts have won their battle to force Amazon to charge a sales tax on all merchandise orders here in Massachusetts.
Before jumping with glee by all of the local merchants for the chance of increased sales, please remember that online merchants like Amazon discount all the prices on their merchandise along with free shipping. Not having to pay the sales tax was a bonus, and the Retailers Association have taken away the treat. Now the legislators in Boston will have more money to waste.
For the rest of us, we will still make our purchases online where prices are drastically lower than at the local merchants, whether you are on the Vineyard or in downtown Boston. There is the variety of choice of different goods, along with free delivery, plus returns without any difficulty. I will still go to the local merchants to test out the merchandise and ask questions of the sales clerk.
However, in the back of mind, I will recall that it was the Retailers Association that forced the end of this sales tax bonus, and I will continue to make every effort to purchase from online merchants like Amazon.
Frank J. Kennedy
Oak Bluffs
