Those shoppers who frequently purchase from Amazon.com will want to take a closer look at the bottom line starting next week. As of February 1, Amazon will start collecting sales tax from Illinois consumers to comply with a new state law.

What will this mean for consumers? A spokesman for the online merchant says Amazon will collect Illinois' 6.25 percent use tax, meaning your total bill should increase by, yes, around 6 percent. It should be pointed out that you already should pay that use tax on online purchases when you file your state tax return. However, not surprisingly, the compliance rate is low.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
loading...

What will this mean for the state of Illinois' coffers? The Tribune reports:

It is not clear how much sales tax Illinois will collect from Amazon, the world's largest online retailer. Amazon, which does not break out sales by state, reported net sales of $60 billion over the nine months ended Sept. 30 and expected to ring up as much as $30 billion in the fourth quarter alone, up from $74.5 billion in sales in all of 2013. The Illinois Department of Revenue in 2011 estimated that uncollected sales tax from e-commerce transactions would cost the state $212 million in 2013.

What will this mean for Amazon? A recent study conducted by Itzhak Ben-David, an associate professor of finance at Ohio State University, shows sales are likely to decline about 10 percent in Illinois if its pattern follows those of other states:

"The decline was most dramatic for large purchases," Ben-David said in an interview. For example, he and colleagues measured a sales decline of nearly 25 percent on purchases of $300 or more. Those consumers flee Amazon for other retailers, though they tend to stay online.

So, if you're looking to make one final large purchase via Amazon, your time is running out.

More From WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM