By Judith Rosen
After a dozen years, independent booksellers and other brick-and-mortar retailers in California prevailed when Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law yesterday afternoon requiring out-of-state retailers with a presence in the state to collect sales tax on California sales beginning July 1. For California residents the pain of paying online sales tax to Amazon and Overstock will be amerliorated somewhat by a 1% sales tax drop on Friday, when it returns to 7.75% after a two-year temporary increase.
As reported by TechCrunch.com Seattle-based Amazon wasted no time in firing its affiliates in California. In a letter sent to members of the retailer’s associates program, it wrote: “We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors.” They also noted that they are looking at alternative ways for California residents to monetize their Web sites. As a result of similar legislation, Amazon closed associates programs in Illinois, Hawaii, Connecticut, and North Carolina.
