Check out the email I Woke up to this morning.(5 a.m.) Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate: We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to "voluntarily" collect Colorado sales tax -- a course we won't take. We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states. There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates. You may express your views of Colorado's new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill. Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010. We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future. Best Regards, The Amazon Associates Team
Well that blows. I just got approved today -- staring at the email today. I'm in Southwest Colorado so I am assuming my account will be closed soon as well unless this is a joke. Damnit all to hell.
No no joke at all. I just bought a website selling electronics getting almost all of the content from Amazon. Now I don't know what to do.
I have multiple clients using the Associates program in Colorado. - Lot's of websites will need to be updated.
Why would this taxation affect the associates? Wouldn't the new law be more directed at those selling on Amazon as a 3rd party alternative?
Thankfully I live close enough to New Mexico that I will be going down and getting a bank account and PO Box because of this. I just started the affiliate program with Amazon so I haven't earned a dime, but I will head down immediately if I can garner some respectable sales. In the meantime I changed my address to my parents place in California. This is pretty upsetting because my site is mainly designed around these Amazon links. Are there any other affiliate programs similar to Amazon's way of letting you link directly to just about any product? Again damnit all to hell.
The bill that passed was specifically altered to take affiliates out of the picture & not affect them. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...rom-amazon-tax-bill-in-colorado-84966807.html But Amazon dumped their affiliates anyway, to make a point. It's all about political posturing now. Amazon doesn't want to show weakness, the states are grasping at straws and want to act like they are doing "something". Buy.com, Overstock*, B&N, many more. That's where I'm going to start shopping. (*Overstock also threatened to drop affiliates - use caution)
I just posted a new thread on this subject b4 seeing this one. I'm a newbie to aff marketing & this puts a real raincloud over it all. Are other programs going to follow Amazon's lead, or is this just a power play on their part?
Merchants that have dropped affiliates in other tax-happy states like N.Y. Rhode Isl. and N. Carolina will follow suit in Colorado. and whichever state is next. One of my merchants dropped their entire program because of the colorado law.
The Ebay program is the best replacement for Amazon. Soon only people outside the USA will be Amazon affiliates :/
I changed to my parents' address in Florida. I'm using a bank account in Colorado, but it's a national bank so I don't think they care. Will soon find out if they decide not to pay me!