The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

California Newest State Dumped by Amazon After Passing Affiliate Sales Tax

California is the newest state to pass a law taxing sales at companies like Amazon when those sales are generated by a local (in this case California-based) affiliate or associate. And, not unexpectedly, about five minutes after California Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation, California becames the newest state to have their affiliates dumped by Amazon. As we’ve pondered before, is it arrogance or simple ignorance that is leading these state legislatures to pass laws that, instead of bringing in new taxes, are depriving their state economic engines of taxable spending fuel? Instead of bringing more income into the state, by chasing away the affiliate programs, they are depriving their own residents of income – income which would come back to the local economy.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

Amazon Cancels All Affiliate Accounts in Colorado after Passage of New Online Sales Tax Law

Colorado Amazon affiliates got the news this morning – Amazon has cancelled all Amazon associate (affiliate) accounts for all affilliates who are based in Colorado. The move came after the passage of Colorado law HB 10-1193, even though – as we read it – the affilliate language was removed from HB 10-1193 before it was passed!

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

Court Upholds Sales Tax on Affiliate Sales Generated in New York – Amazon Tax Applies to All NY Affiliates

A New York court has upheld New York’s affiliate sales tax law, dubbed “The Amazon Tax”, which requires that sales tax be collected for all sales originating in New York pursuant to a commission agreement (such as an affiliate program), regardless of the fact that the merchant is not actually in New York – such as Amazon.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

Amazon Initiates Effort to Get Calfornia’s Internet Sales Tax Repealed

Amazon has decided to tackle states that are adopting Internet sales taxes head on, by underwriting and spearheading a referendum to have the newest Internet sales tax, that in California, repealed.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

Philadelphia Levies $300 Blog Tax on Bloggers

The city of Philadelphia has taken that age-old pastime – trying to get blood out of a stone – to a new high tech high: trying to get money out of a hobby blogger. Philadelphia may be the ‘city of brotherly love’, but it’s certainly not the city of bloggerly love, especially not with Philadelphia charging bloggers what amounts to a $300 blogging tax. Oh sure, Philadelphia officials call it a “business privilege license”, but when you require it of someone who hasn’t monetized their blog at all, well, that’s not much of a business model, is it? Of course, it’s a dandy business model for Philadelphia, right up there with states charging an affiliate sales tax.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

California Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes California Affiliate Program Tax, Overstock Reinstates California Affiliates

It seems like only yesterday we were reporting that, due to California’s legislature (among others) being poised to pass a tax on affiliate programs (which some were also calling an “advertising tax”) such as those run by Amazon and Overstock, these and other companies were resorting to dumping the affiliates in those states and that, in fact, Overstock had just dumped all of their California affiliates for that very reason. In fact, it was yesterday. And in response, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the tax increase which the California legislators had passed, including the problematic affiliate tax provision.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

Affiliates Getting Dumped from Coast-to-Coast as States Contemplate Internet Sales Tax Laws

With ever more states either passing or contemplating passing an Internet affiliate program sales tax, the two edges of that particular sword are being felt from coast-to-coast, as associates are being slashed from the lucrative affiliate programs of some of the largest Internet companies.

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

North Carolina to Enact Amazon Affiliate Tax

Following in New York’s footsteps, North Carolina is set to enact a similar Amazon Affiliate Tax, by which we mean that sales generated by someone in North Carolina via an affiliate program will be taxed (New York enacted an affiliate sales tax last year, over which New York was promptly sued).

The Internet Patrol default featured image
Continue Reading

NY Sued Over Affiliate Tax on Companies with an Affiliate Earning Affiliate Income in New York

As promised, the state of New York has been sued over its new “affiliate tax”, by which it is looking to boost state revenues by collecting as much as 50 million dollars in sales tax from companies that have affiliates in New York who are earning affiliate income in New York. That means that if your company has a super affiliate guru in New York – someone who can really make money with your affiliate program – you are going to get hit with a super affilliate tax on all the sales that they generate for you.