New Taxes Await Online Holiday Shoppers

Ravenous state tax collectors are extending their reach into what was previously an online refuge

SAN FRANCISCO — Some Amazon.com shoppers are in for a rude awakening as they click to check out with holiday purchases on Black Friday — they'll have to pay the tax man.

For the first time since the dawn of e-commerce, residents in California, Texas and Pennsylvania will be automatically charged state sales tax at the checkout on Amazon and some other online retail websites. Next year, Virginia and New Jersey residents will join them, followed by residents of Nevada, Indiana and Tennessee in January 2014.