Arizona residents who opted to pay taxes for online purchases have given the state a slight windfall.
The Arizona Republic says an estimated 33,700 taxpayers paid $1.6 million in taxes in 2011 on a largely ignored levy on Internet and out-of-state purchases.
Lawmakers added a line to 2011 forms mandating the state tax.
The Legislature repealed the requirement this year, backing away from making it harder to skip paying sales tax on online purchases.
Accountants believe the revenue, as a result, won’t reach the same level again.
A spokesman for Gov. Jan Brewer says heightened attention to the tax may lead to more people reporting online sales tax.
Some residents have said the requirement was burdensome because they don’t track whether sales tax was collected for online purchases.
