[sokoloff]

Amazon has no tax exempt status.

It merely has no obligation in most jurisdictions to collect sales tax on behalf of the local taxing jurisdiction. Those purchases aren't tax-exempt; it's just that it's the buyer's problem to comply, not Amazon's problem to comply. That many buyers "forget" to comply does not make them exempt. (And Amazon is not exempt, rather they never had an obligation in the first place.)

[rafcavallaro]

This could easily change if laws are passed requiring a online retailers like a Amazon to collect such taxes. The absence of such a requirement now gives Amazon a de facto tax exempt status.