In reply to Senior Kolchek.

Senior Kolchek, I wouldn't characterize it as a kickback. I think of it more as funds to cover the expenses related to being the agent of the state. Each business is essentially a tax collector for the state.

Not only does the business have to collect the tax, they have to manage it and file it. Usually they have to pay for software to manage the tax rates (and the extra time for the person doing the work), if they do business across tax jurisdictions (ie towns/counties/states), then they have to pay for all those extra tax rates for the calculation.