Indiana mall developer Simon Property Group, owned by billionaire real estate developer Herbert Simon (who also owns Kirkus Reviews), has filed suit against the state of Indiana to force it to collect taxes on sales made through Amazon.com. SPG said it is not seeking monetary damages and filed suit to protect the physical store retailers who are tenants at the 27 shopping centers it owns in Indiana.
SPG said the suit was filed after it had requested that the state start collecting sales tax from Amazon as required by Indiana law. SPG’s suit charges that despite being required to collect sales tax, Amazon continues to refuse to do so.
In a prepared statement, Simon Property Group, said, it, “ believes we have a responsibility to ensure the laws are equally applied to everyoneMain Street retailers are being harmed by this unequal playing field in Indiana and their existence is being jeopardized and threatens the employment of hundreds of thousands of retail employees in our state.”
