Ending a process that began as it began opening distribution centers across the U.S., Amazon will be charging sales tax in all states that have one as of April 1, the company announced.  This eliminates a competitive advantage that the online behemoth long had over brick and mortar stores, which because of their physical locations were required by law to charge sales tax.

Amazon has opened distribution centers in almost every state over the last few years, with 169 distribution and sortation centers worldwide as of the end of last year (see "Retail Giants Double Down on Fast Delivery").  Those physical locations put Amazon in the position of having to charge sales taxes in the states in which they’re located, so it is now taking the final step of charging tax in the last few states where it had not done so in the past, inclidng Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, and New Mexico.