Colorado Internet Tax » News

Amazon Fights Back: Sues NC Over Tax Info Request

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:40:43 +0000

The North Carolina tax authorities recently requested the records of about 50 million customers who made purchases from Amazon.com since 2003. Amazon thinks this is unconstitutional and fired back by filing a federal lawsuit in Seattle which is where they are headquartered.

Amazon removed its presence in the state (by severing ties with affiliates) in 2008 when the state decided to enforce the collection of taxes on online commerce from out of state advertisers.

It seems highly audacious to seek information about residents from NC on purchases made before such a law was enacted. Good for Amazon on this one. Stay tuned to see how this one turns out.

Link to full article.

What Impact Has This Legislation Had So Far?

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:15:08 +0000

Bill HB-1193 was designed to help Colorado overcome its massive deficit by forcing advertisers to collect sales tax on internet sales or send notifications to customers if they reside in CO so that they will pay them on their income taxes regardless of where the advertiser is located.

Well, what have the results looked like so far? A LOT of advertisers have chosen to cease relationships with CO affiliates. Just a few include:

Amazon.com, BudShop.com (Budweiser), Coca-ColaStore.com, Conair Online Store, TheCrayolaStore.com, TheHersheyStore.com, OmronWebstore.com, ShopDelonghi.com, ShopKitchenAid.com and SnowShack.com.

Colorado, if we now can’t generate sales for them aren’t you missing out on extra tax dollars that we as a publisher would we earning on lost sales? Is the right hand not taking from the left in this instance at the expense of small to medium size businesses?

What impact is this having on your business? Are there any advertisers that have dropped you that weren’t mentioned?

Ritter Signs New Tax Bills

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:52:12 +0000

Governor Ritter has signed new tax bills which will impact Colorado businesses and those that purchase online.

Coloradans to pay taxes on Web buys

Colo. governor signs bills to tax candy, soda

How will this impact you and your business?

Colorado Advertising Tax – RIP

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:58:11 +0000

As reported on the Performance Marketing Association Blog, it appears that Affiliates have won the battle over the Colorado Advertising/Affiliates tax.

This is a great victory for the thousands of affiliates who live, work and pay taxes in Colorado.

It appears a major financial blunder by the State has been averted with the changes to the bill.

Colorado Internet Retail Tax – Bill HB-1193

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:34:04 +0000

We started this blog so that online marketers can discover info about the proposed internet retail tax bill in Colorado.

If you’re not familiar with this bill and how it can affect your online business we have a number of resources you should review right away.

Here’s an excerpt from a letter we received from Overstock which explains the situation.

“Overstock.com values your advertising efforts on our behalf, and we hope to be in a position to continue our business connection for years to come. However, we are writing to inform you the Colorado state legislature has introduced a bill which puts our continued relationship in jeopardy. HB 1193 (Concerning the Collection of Sales and Use Taxes on Sales Made by Out‐of‐State Retailers) was introduced on January 22, 2010. We are told the bill is moving quickly. This bill is modeled on a bill first passed in New York. The legislation attempts to establish responsibility for collection of sales tax for out‐of‐state retailers if those out‐of‐state retailers use Colorado‐based affiliate advertisers.

We believe such bills are not only harmful to business, but unconstitutional and contrary decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. More importantly, if HB 1193 passes, Overstock.com will have to sever relationships with Colorado Affiliates before the bill becomes law. We have done this in each state where such legislation has passed: New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.”

As Affiliate Marketers who live in Colorado, we know this bill is a really bad idea for the State of Colorado and for small businesses. The State will will lose millions in Tax revenues as Affiliates are terminated and move their businesses and families out of the State.

Feel free to share your thoughts below.