President Donald Trump has been accusing online retailer Amazon of paying and collecting few state and local taxes, but his own company’s online store collects sales taxes in just two states, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Although the Trump Organization is based in New York, TrumpStore.com collects sales taxes only in Florida and Louisiana, the Journal reported.
The website sells Trump-branded apparel and gifts, including $35 baseball caps, $20 body lotions, $50 blankets – and $36 Trump toddler polo shirts.
“Trumpstore.com has always, and will continue to collect, report, and remit sales taxes in jurisdictions where it has an obligation to do so,” a Trump Organization representative told CNBC.
Currently, online retailers are only required to collect sales taxes in states where they have a physical presence. The Trump administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court in March that argued retailers should have to collect sales taxes even in states where they aren’t physically present. The top court will hear arguments on the issue later this month.
A spokeswoman for the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The WSJ report follows the president’s recent social media rampage against Amazon, claiming that the online retail giant pays “little or no taxes to state & local governments.”
Trump has frequently targeted the company of CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, which Trump has falsely claimed to be a “lobbyist” for Amazon.
Trump’s most recent salvo alleged that Amazon’s use of the United States Postal Service cost the government agency billions of dollars. Trump also claimed that the “Fake Washington Post” is used as the company’s lobbyist “and should so REGISTER.”
A White House spokeswoman said Trump has been referring to taxes collected by third-party sellers on Amazon.com. The company collects taxes on sales of its own inventory in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
