No doubt with his re-election in mind, Gov. Rick Scott has reversed course reaching a deal with Amazon, the major Internet retailer, to establish a set of warehouses in Florida.
Scott, only last month, after months of negotiation, had rejected the deal with Amazon, which is estimated to lead to 3,000 jobs and more than $300 million invested on two sets of warehouses between now and 2016.
Although it is not clear why Scott initially gave the deal the thumbs down, many speculate that the governor didn’t want Floridians to face the required 6 percent Internet sales tax, once Amazon has a physical presence in the state, just before he runs for re-election in 2014.
Now that Scott has reversed course, it is not known at what point the retailer will begin to collect from its Florida-based customers the state’s required 6 percent sales tax. The location of Amazon’s proposed warehouses is also not known.
