Posted on 03/05/2011 12:50:28 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
March 2, 2011, 4:32 PM
Amazon warns it will leave California affiliates over tax law
Paul Demery
Managing Editor
The retailer will cut ties with affiliates if the state passes sales tax legislation.
Amazon.com Inc. told California tax officials this week that it will cut ties with thousands of California affiliates if the state passes pending legislation requiring the online retailer to collect sales tax from California customers.
Amazon, contending that four bills pending in the California Legislature appear to be unconstitutional or would “construct Trojan horses” leading to unconstitutional regulation, said passage of any of the bills into law would compel the world’s largest online retailer to end its advertising relationships with more than 10,000 California-based participants in Amazon’s affiliate program. Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, compensates program participants when they refer consumers who make purchases on Amazon.com.
State tax officials estimate that Amazon’s termination of its California affiliate program would slash by 50% the revenue the state expects to raise under the pending legislation, according to a statement by state senator George Runner, who is a member of the state’s Board of Equalization, the state agency that oversees sales tax collection.
(Excerpt) Read more at internetretailer.com ...
California has become a drain.
Who would ever think that actions have consequences?
P!
Now - as the Great Lady Margaret prophesied - CA is running out of other people’s money, and they are desperate to keep that spigot flowing.
It’s disgraceful.
Good for Amazon.
Like a child, libs kick and scream and stamp their feet, but it’s NOT THEIR MONEY.
Obamacide.
It is rather ironic — Amazon was founded by liberals.
Like several other states facing steep revenue shortfalls, California is looking to get sales tax revenue from out-of-state online retailers who don’t have a physical presence in the state.
Ya left out this part....
Misener adds in his letter, a copy of which was received by Internet Retailer, that Amazon has already terminated its relationships with affiliates in three other states—North Carolina, Rhode Island and Colorado—that have enacted legislation within the past year aimed at forcing online retailers to collect sales tax.
I *love* Amazon and blow lots of money on there.
Time to go shopping to show *my* “solidarity”!
LOL!
So much for the possibility of “bluffing”.
Amazon has already terminated its relationships with affiliates in three other states—North Carolina, Rhode Island and Colorado—that have enacted legislation within the past year aimed at forcing online retailers to collect sales tax.
Just in case someone thinks that Amazon just doesn't like to collect sales tax at all, any marketplace transaction that Amazon completes on behalf of a California retailer to a California customer automatically collects California state sales tax and remits it quarterly to the state of California.
Amazon's rejection, however, is reinterpreting an advertising presence as being a physical presence. Note: One of the big pushers behind this is Buy.com which, being based in California, is fighting an uphill battle to stay competitive in California, as their prices are 10% higher than Amazon's at the final checkout because of the sales tax charges.
To put it into perspective, it is like California stating that any out of state company that uses a billboard advertisement is now based in California and subject to corporate taxes. It bends reality.
I won’t pay their online sales tax either.
Good for Amazon!
They have been having great cereal specials. I have a house full of cereal right now.
Ah yes. It’s often funny to watch liberal companies slowly be stripped of their principles in the free market.
All these things that sound so noble - once they get to doing business, they find out they don’t make any sense. They either discard a lot of the silliness or start lying about it.
Here is a fun article about Ben and Jerry’s: http://www.jonentine.com/articles/evil_empire.htm
Kalifornia also collects income tax from a part of millions of retired military - if you were ever stationed in Kalifornia, they deem that you earned some of that retirement there and, no matter where you reside when you collect it, they want their share.
Everyone is conservative when it comes to their own money.
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