Posted on 03/02/2011 2:29:55 PM PST by Nachum
Amazon.com has threatened to cut off more than 10,000 affiliates in California if state lawmakers pass legislation requiring the Internet retailer to collect sales tax from state residents. Seattle-based Amazon said four bills introduced in the state legislature are unconstitutional because they would require sellers with no physical presence in California to collect sales tax from its residents (Snip) "In no uncertain terms, Amazon has made it clear to me that the checks they send Californians will be cut off overnight if pending legislation aimed at regulating their operations becomes law."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
This will be a fun one to follow. I’ll get the popcorn.
The Democrat legislature is prepared to scrap any amount of private sector jobs in service to their holy grail of always higher taxes for more looting of the treasury.
It’d be nice if the voters of California were paying attention. But they’ll keep pulling the lever for the thieves and scumbags with the D after their names like they always do.
Don't they understand that all money belongs to the government?
California legislators have a need to spend that money.
GIVE THEM THE MONEY! GIVE THEM THE MONEY! GIVE THEM THE MONEY! GIVE THEM THE MONEY! GIVE THEM THE MONEY!
Amazon affiliates are frequently people who because of age have absolutely no chance at getting hired for a payroll job in today’s market. This will destroy thousands of lives.
I got the butter and salt :)
Amazon has an "affiliate" program. You put an ad for products on your website, and link the reader to Amazon to purchase it.
If the reader purchases the product (and perhaps others?) through your link to Amazon, then Amazon pays a commission to you.
California is apparently claiming that your residence in California and receiving commissions from Amazon on this basis constitute Amazon's physical presence in the state, and thus obligating Amazon to collect sales tax on all purchases made by California residents.
If Amazon drops all the affiliates in California in order to comply, then that means less income for California's residents, and less income tax for the state of California.
Lawmakers get two things here. Less internet traffic. Destroys jobs. They will be pleased.
Thanks....that helps me understand....what fools!
I make it a definite “try to” NOT to buy ANTHING that comes from California or any other rabid blue state, period. I look for where vendors are and where things are made. I’d sooner buy something from China.
Wait a minute.
The only thing the Feds could do is tax the income from the affiliate’s sales commission. The affiliate’s service started and ended with the sale, BUT they only recieved money from Amazon, not the customer.
This should be shot down, but hey it’s Kaliphornya.
the parasite ruling class will not care one bit. The parasite class lives to figure ways to steal the wealth of others.
the left and RINOs are pure evil. They believe the State is supreme.
I applaud the tough stance by Amazon. All businesses should fight every attempt to have their money stolen by the evil parasites in government.
I fear the only way to stop these parasites is either a total economic collapse or another Revolution. Nothing else will likely stop them.
Sounds like 10,000 more people will be leaving the wonderful state of Kalifornia.
You may not understand how liberals think. They LIKE taxes. They think prosperity comes from taxes.
A flaming liberal friend who is otherwise intelligent, once told me that the only reason we make as much money from our employers is because of taxes. Employers would pay us less if they knew we wouldn’t have to pay taxes on the gross pay.
I kid you not, this is what exists in place of logic in the mind of a liberal. They have no clue what causes or kills jobs. No clue.
Many of Amazon's California affiliates would be hosting their websites on out-of-state servers. While my sites have been designed and built in California, they 'live' on a server in Utah.
Problem is after the taxes get too high for them, they move to another state and screw up that one by voting the same way. Ain’t no cure for stupid...
Yeah, this is yet another reason by the whole concept of "location" is outdated.
I have a Vonage phone. It's connected in my home, but has a main phone number in another state -- and yet another phone number in still another state. If I wanted, I could add a number for any of about a dozen countries.
And I can pick up the terminal adapter and take it anywhere in the world that I can get a good connection to the Internet, and then I'll be conducting business from "there".
My personal website is hosted in Nevada. But, I've never been there except for vacation. I do everything remotely through SSH and HTTP(S). The bits all reside in Nevada, but I click the keys and mouse at home... most of the time.
Sales taxes really should be assessed on the buyer, and make it their responsibility to comply. The merchant can't reasonably be expected to know all the different taxing districts and exceptions (which change constantly: does your state have sales tax holidays?).
In my state, a brick-and-mortar merchant is issued a sales tax certificate that states exactly what taxes must be collected. I guess we need one for buyers, too.
Yes, I know that's effectively a VAT. But, if it were to actually replace a tax (rather than be imposed on top of it), I would be less opposed.
You can bet your banana on that. There is a work around for everything. My state passed legislation that prohibits the importation of medicine dispensed by a US pharmacy with a valid prescription. Hell, I moved - not literally, but my permanent mailing address did. There are bountiful re-shippers out there who will receive and re-ship your mail and other parcels for a nominal fee. RV'ers have used these services forever because they are always on the move. I can "live" in any state I wish. Idiots!
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