41–50 of 168 posts
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Not at all. They are doing this because they don't want to get into an unnecessary legal fight which could go either way.
The rule seems to apply to Amazon principally because it has distribution centers in CA.
To the best of my knowledge Amazon has no distribution centers in any states that collect sales tax explicitly because it doesn't want to be forced to collect sales taxes.
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actually there are far more than 50, as many counties and municipalities have their own sales tax rates on top of their state's rate. not only that, but it is far more complex than just one fixnum per jurisdiction as each is able to establish rules on what is taxed and what is not. the prime example is food, where the local laws on what counts as non-taxed food always seem a bit byzantine.
Thanks, you're completely right. I'd still note that every single national retailer manages to do it ok.
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How many affiliates are they willing to terminate? All of them (besides the 5 states it already collects for http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=4... ) ?
Sales tax tends to be 5-10%, affiliate kickbacks tend to be less than that, which means that the increased revenue from affiliate links is in the same ballpark. It would be bad enough if these laws forced amazon to pay sales tax on purchases where the affiliate lived in the same state as the purchaser. Instead these laws force amazon to pay sales tax on all sales where the purchaser lives in a state where there is a…
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I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. As long as Amazon didn't know you were a California resident, you'd probably get away with it. However you'd be opening Amazon up to the possibility of a lawsuit from California. If they figure that out, they will not be happy with you.
Wouldn't creating a Delaware corp for all of this be massive overkill? Anything purchased through the corporation for an employee's (your) use would then be taxed, too, right? This sounds like a pretty significant hassle, and really only a good idea for someone who makes a lot of money from their Affiliate stuff.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. As long as Amazon didn't know you were a California resident, you'd probably get away with it. However you'd be opening Amazon up to the possibility of a lawsuit from California. If they figure that out, they will not be happy with you.
Wouldn't creating a Delaware corp for all of this be massive overkill? Anything purchased through the corporation for an employee's (your) use would then be taxed, too, right? This sounds like a pretty significant hassle, and really only a good idea for someone who makes a lot of money from their Affiliate stuff.
They're clearly doing this because they know the affiliate marketers will complain a lot , and not because there's much of a direct relationship financially.
Not at all. They are doing this because they don't want to get into an unnecessary legal fight which could go either way.
According to http://www.amazon.com/Locations-Careers/b?ie=UTF8&node=2... Amazon has subsidiaries in: Cupertino, Lake Forest, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.
I also regularly get deliveries that seem to originate within CA, even if Amazon does nor report any fulfillment centers in CA.
Let's be honest: Amazon has an unfair advantage over local retailers by not charging sales tax and it's using the loud online voice that its Amazon Associates have to keep things this way.
So, when an affiliate refers a sale, sometimes they're losing money, not making money.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
actually there are far more than 50, as many counties and municipalities have their own sales tax rates on top of their state's rate. not only that, but it is far more complex than just one fixnum per jurisdiction as each is able to establish rules on what is taxed and what is not. the prime example is food, where the local laws on what counts as non-taxed food always seem a bit byzantine.
Thanks, you're completely right. I'd still note that every single national retailer manages to do it ok.
Some important background on this. At issue here is sales tax. By state law, the tax is owed by the citizens to the state no matter where they make the purchase. To make enforcement easier, the tax is supposed to be collected by businesses. In theory the tax is owed regardless, but as a practical matter when businesses do not collect the tax, customers don't volunteer the information and the state loses revenue. This…