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By the end of the day an estimated 107 million shoppers will be waiting for shipments from purchase they made online. Cyber Monday sales are expected to climb 11 percent. As Whitney Ray tells us, the news is good for the economy, but bad for the state, because many online shops don’t collect sales tax.

It was quiet in Susan Frisbee’s gift shop Monday. The only noise was from Susan’s workshop where she was grinding glass, but throughout the state.

Shoppers searched for deals and clicked on bargains during the busiest online shopping day of the year. It’s hard for Susan’s glass shop to compete when millions of people are shopping from home and work.

“When you buy locally you are supporting your local small businesses and large businesses. The sales tax stays in town. The money stays in town,” said Susan.

The playing field isn’t level. Susan charges a six cent state sales tax and local taxes. Online store without locations in Florida don’t collect sales tax. It will cost the state an estimated 10 million dollars by the end of Cyber Monday. Florida TaxWatch says between two and four billion dollars goes uncollected every year.

“Under the current law people owe the sales tax even on purchases they make over the internet. It’s a matter of collection. Most retailers don’t collect that and remit it to the state,” said Robert Weissert with Florida TaxWatch.

Most shoppers don’t even know they owe the tax. To follow the law online shoppers have to visit the Department of Revenue’s website, print a tax form, list the items purchased, do the math, and mail in a check. And you got to do it four times a year. The form to fill out to pay taxes on online purchases is the DR 15 MO. You can download the form at dor.myflorida.com/dor/forms/2010/dr15mo.pdf

Some State lawmakers want to make paying the tax easier, but for now Florida retailers like Susan will have to compete with online stores charging six percent less.