Brick and mortar retailers in Illinois are rejoicing.
That's after Amazon announced it would soon comply with a new state law, forcing the online retail giant to collect a sales-tax.
But some worry about the law's unintended consequences.
For years, brick-and-mortar stores have complained that companies like Amazon held an unfair advantage over them, because online retailers didn't have to worry about passing along the Illinois sales-tax to their customers. But after some legal wrangling, a new law is taking effect, no longer giving those internet companies a tax break.
Einar Forsman heads the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. He says this certainly brings a level of fairness to the retail world.
"It can provide some pressure, people who see that they can potentially save on things and get something shipped for free may opt to make that selection rather than support a store in their own community."
But Forsman says they would like to see a more uniform law across the nation. He says action like this has forced some e-commerce affiliates based in the Rockford-area to move to other states.
Meanwhile, the new online sales-tax of 6.25 percent will start being collected on Feb. 1.
