On June 26th, I wrote a post about receiving a termination warning email from the Amazon Associate (Affiliate) program about RI gearing up to pass Bill HR 6141 aka in affiliate circles as the “Amazon Tax”.
http://www.ebizrantzandravez.com/160/my-possible-affiliate-termination-email-from-amazoncom/
Well … NOT that I am surprised, but it is NOW official – I am officially terminated from Amazon.com’s affiliate program!
RI lawmakers are right up there with the other “clueless” politicos that don’t understand anything about business except for the fact that they try to tax it to death. They buried it in the annual budget, so it would be hard to get rid of. It’s pretty much veto-proof.
For eveyone’s information, below is what an Amazon.com affiliate termination email looks like …
We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 29, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly with a veto-proof majority. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 29. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation’s effective date. The governor could sign the bill — or have his veto overridden — any day now.
Please be assured that all qualifying referral fees earned prior to June 29, 2009 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with our regular referral fee schedule. Based on your account closure date of June 29, 2009, any final payments will be paid by September 1, 2009.In the event that Rhode Island repeals this tax collection scheme, we would certainly be happy to re-open our Associates program to Rhode Island residents.
The Rhode Island General Assembly’s website is http://www.rilin.state.ri.us, the governor’s website is http://www.governor.ri.gov, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com .
We have enjoyed working with you and other Rhode Island-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,
The Amazon Associates Team
To be honest, I really don’t blame them. I have to admit I’d do the same thing. Just added bookkeeping for no good reason.
GREAT GOING RI (AND Other lame states passing similar laws) Lawmakers … You’re NOW gonna have LESS … Yes … LESS money coming into YOUR state coffers now. People like myself that are affiliates of merchants like Amazon.com are getting terminated because of the hassles of this most likely unconstitutional tax and therefore we won’t be making as much (if any) commissions from sales and the states will now get LESS income tax revenue from us now come April 15th each year. Just what ya wanted – huh? LESS money.
Hope you all are proud of yourself! As Bugs Bunny liked to say … “What a MAROON!”
BTW …
Michael E. Young, an online marketer and an attorney, has put out a quick & simple read 2 page report that you should read called the Future Of Affiliate Marketing Alert. Check it out. Something to think about anyway …
http://mikeyounglaw.com/future-marketing-special-report.pdf
Ciao!
Tags: stupid politicians, amazon tax, nexus tax, ri hr 6141, amazon associate program
11 Comments Received
June 30th, 2009 @6:13 am
Wow, where will it all end with these removals from the program?
June 30th, 2009 @9:08 am
Hi Geoff!
I don’t know either. One of the big guys like Amazon needs to take the “constitutional” issues of this particular way the states are using “nexus tax” all the way to the Supreme Court.
But until then, we, as affiliates, gotta “suck it up” and continue on and work thru it. ALL is NOT lost!
Thx for stopping by!
Rick Wilson aka CorpRebel
June 30th, 2009 @7:38 pm
Hi Rick,
So, how difficult would it be for you to legally relocate your company to another state? I would think that WA, ND, KA, KY would be good candidates since they already have an AMZN physical presence. Probably not worth the hassle for most, but do you think some affiliates will do this? Thanks.
June 30th, 2009 @8:42 pm
Hi “eHugg”!
Thanx for stopping by!
Actually I would want to be where Amazon (and other merchants) DO NOT have a presence.
Up until recently, I hadn’t really thought about becoming an actual “company”. I’ve been operating as a “sole proprietor” these past several years. It suited my purposes during that period but this issue has made me rethink this.
I could probably form a company such as a LLC (Limited Liability Company) in another state that’s not likely to pass this type of “nexus tax”(Amazon Tax). For example, I believe Tennessee’s legislature has shot down a similar bill a couple of times already.
But, I will be discussing this with my attorney & accountant on best way to proceed.
I am sure some affiliates might start looking into this sort of solution too.
This will probably still end up in the U.S. Supreme Court eventually.
We affiliates just have to “roll with the punches” and still do our thing. heh heh
Have Fun!
Rick Wilson aka CorpRebel
June 30th, 2009 @11:00 pm
From my understanding of the laws involved I would have to disagree. Those four states are the only ones guaranteed not to get into the same pissing match with AMZN. If you were an affiliate in WA for example, the taxes collected would still be the same. AMZN would still not collect from RI citizens who bought through you and they already collect from the WA citizens who do. Am I missing another tax collection point here?
June 30th, 2009 @11:54 pm
I understand what you are saying but there is a bit of logistics involved. I’m NOT gonna physically move from RI and even if I setup a biz in another state, I would have to have the banking, correspondence & those afffiliate checks going to THAT address now and somehow get all that forwarded to me. I certainly wouldn’t want to have to fly to WA all the time to get all that stuff done.
Remember too, this isn’t JUST about Amazon. All the other merchants don’t necessarlily have a presence in WA, ND, KA, KY either. I can’t set up a company in multiple states. Personally, Amazon isn’t only one whom I’m worried about. I don’t make all that much from them anyway. It’s all the other merchants I deal with that I have to worry about.
IF the only merchant I dealt with was Amazon, then your way would have some merit.
I’m sure there are ways to get that done and that’s why I need to talk with my attorney and accountant. This is sooooo mucked up! LOL
Thanks again for your insights. I truly appreciate you taking the time to throw them out there.
Rick Wilson aka CorpRebel
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