I tend to view the avoidance of paying local taxes as one of the internet's original legislation workarounds (1). The entire wholesale (you buy for resale, pay taxes when that happens) vs retail (you sell to the end user) division was abused to allow the historical "nobody pays taxes on the internet, so buy there and avoid them" logic many people used.
It would have been interesting to see how differently retail sales would have grown, especially Amazon, if they were required to wrangle with local sales tax in all the places they sold into.
Additionally, most locations have a Use Tax that's identical to local sales tax, so it's transferring the legal burden onto the buyer. Almost nobody does this.
1: It's not a new or internet-specific tactic either - many car dealerships advertise "No City Sales Tax!" and are barely on the other side of the city limits.
This wasn't invented by the internet. Interstate mail order sales delivered by railroad in the 19th century were always tax free. E-commerce inherited that system.
It would have been interesting to see how differently retail sales would have grown, especially Amazon, if they were required to wrangle with local sales tax in all the places they sold into.
Additionally, most locations have a Use Tax that's identical to local sales tax, so it's transferring the legal burden onto the buyer. Almost nobody does this.
1: It's not a new or internet-specific tactic either - many car dealerships advertise "No City Sales Tax!" and are barely on the other side of the city limits.