Judge Says Amazon Can Keep Customer Records Private Over Tax

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Judge Says Amazon Can Keep Customer Records Private Over Tax [news.cnet.com]

In a victory for the free speech and privacy rights of Amazon.com customers, a federal judge ruled today that the company would not have to turn over detailed records on nearly 50 million purchases to North Carolina tax collectors.

The state had demanded sensitive information including names and addresses of North Carolina customers--and information about exactly what they had purchased between 2003 and 2010.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Washington state said that request went too far and "runs afoul of the First Amendment." She granted Amazon summary judgment.

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I heard on the news yesterday that Texas has filed a 260 million sale tax charge on Amazon. Amazon has a big problem with this one in that they have a distrubition center in Texas so this is going to be big problem for them.

I know they say they really don't own the center legally but if you follow the money trail it won't be very difficult to prove.