Amazon is offering to handle sales tax for its sellers despite years of fighting state regulators. The internet retailer aims to profit by claiming a fee equivalent to 2.9% of the taxes collected. The optional service is to roll out on February 1, 2012 and will be offered to Amazon sellers in all US states.

The shift has been seen as an acknowledgement that ecommerce operators may need to conform to regulations in the same way as bricks-and-mortar retailers. Sellers are expected to add on the 2.9% fee paid to Amazon in the form of price rises to customers.

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