Amazon.com has agreed to drop its campaign to overturn California’s Internet sales tax law if the tax is delayed for a year until September 2012, Thomas R. White, chief of staff to California Assembly majority leader Charles Calderon, confirms to JCK.

Some commentators view Amazon’s move as a sign that it now regards some form of Internet sales tax as inevitable.

The agreement was first reported in the Los Angeles Times.

“What happened was, a bunch of adults came together in a room, and figured out the best deal for everyone,” says Bill Dombrowski, president and CEO of the California Retallers Association, who was involved in the negotiations. “This does level the playing field, which is our intention.”

White adds there has been “no word” whether California Governor Jerry Brown will agree to the deal.

The sales tax provision, which passed in June, was seen by many as specifically targeting Amazon, which has two in-state subsidiaries that help produce its Kindle e-reader. The retailer immediately launched a campaign to overturn the bill.

Amazon has traditionally resisted collecting sales taxes in individual states, although its does support federal legislation for Internet sales tax collection.

Laws requiring Internet companies collect sales tax are now on the books in Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, New York, and North Carolina. Laws requiring companies to notify consumers they owe taxes are in place in South Carolina and Colorado. 

On June 21, JA relaunched its campaign in support of “sales tax fairness.”

JCK