It bothers me as an Internet lawyer and marketer to see this happen. Colorado is the latest greedy state to stupidly try to collect taxes from interstate online sales. The response? Amazon.com has terminated all of its affiliates based in Colorado.
The state’s governor and the legislators looking to collect the tax erroneously claim Amazon is engaged in corporate bullying. In fact, Amazon is logically responding to government run amuck.
The state’s new law, which your Internet lawyer can explain in great detail, would in essence have required Amazon and other online retailers to collect sales/use tax from Colorado residents who make purchases and then turn the money over to the state. The alternative would be to send statements to purchasers telling them how much they should remit to the state and providing the government access to records related to the retail purchases.
In plain English, the government wants to turn online companies into tax collectors for the welfare state rather than balancing budgets and cutting government spending.
This means that Colorado Amazon affiliates will now join their counterparts in North Carolina and Rhode Island looking for alternative sources of income. If you’re a Colorado resident, remember who supported this business-killing law and vote the schmucks out of office when you get the chance. If you need legal or accounting advice pertaining to Colorado’s new law, consult Colorado professionals who specialize in that arena.
You can find out more about the affiliate tax and how it has affected Internet marketing by talking to your Internet lawyer and by reading the affiliate tax info at this link. In particular, understand the part about faking your business location and the consequences of doing so.
