After much wait and anticipation, a deal for Cabela's in Maine has been finalized. Cabela's has decided to change its Northeast expansion strategy to include a store in Scarborough, Maine. After filing for a tax decision from the State of Maine, the store's development was put on hold. This was due to the State of Maine's desire to have Cabela's collect sales tax on in-state catalog sales. Yesterday, in a letter to the developer and the town of Scarborough, Cabela's management stated that a change in expansion strategy was causing them to withdraw their request for a tax decision.

Since Cabela's Internet, catalog and retail endeavors are incorporated as separate entities, Cabela's disagreed with Maine's opinion that in-state catalog sales should be taxed. LL Bean's catalog business, also located in the State of Maine, was opposed to allowing Cabela's to have an in state presence with out being obligated to collect Maine tax on catalog sales. LL Bean cited this as creating an unfair competitive advantage.

Cabela's stated that a change in expansion strategy has allowed it to withdraw its request for a decision from the State Tax Office. People are speculating whether Cabela's plans on making an in-state presence with its other entities. This would allow it to forgo any precedent type interpretations from states where Cabela's has an in-state presence but is not required to collect taxes on in-state catalog sales

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