Amazon To Cut Ties With Thousands Of California Affiliates
Tax legislators are now targeting Amazon affiliates who live in California. Reports are that a newly passed online sales tax law, would force Amazon.com to sever all ties with affiliates who reside in California. What a shame. At a time when people are losing jobs, legislators seem to be clamping down on the few means available for people to earn a decent living. 
But one can’t help wondering if Amazon isn’t using these pieces of legislation to curtail it’s affiliate program in an indirect way. Long before online sales tax legislation, Amazon started doing things that suggested it no longer valued its affiliate base. They systematically reduced commissions and to add insult to injury introduced the 24 hour cookie. To me, Amazon has been too eager to close it’s affiliate programs in states where new legislation is passed. Affiliate who reside in either Illinois, Hawaii, Connecticut or North Carolina, can no longer earn money through their program. And in all cases, Amazon only gave the impression that it cared; the severing of ties was unilateral and swift.
Maybe I am paranoid, but couldn’t Amazon simply absorb the tax? Affiliates already don’t earn much, so reducing their payout would be tantamount to axing the program all together. One thing is certain, the passage of these laws spell doom for any affiliate who happen to reside in the state that it’s passed; affiliates therefore, would be well advised to start planning for life away from Amazon. Sad indeed.
While I am not eager to pronounce the death of affiliate marketing, it’s certainly very clear that things are going to become more difficult. Watch the video below to learn more about online sales tax.
(Source: sitetrail.com)
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