Operation Super Affiliate

I got a Tweet from @samharrelson this morning that he was being terminated from the Amazon affiliate program due to state advertising tax legislation.

Here is the text of the notice from Amazon…

We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.

Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.

But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents.

The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on North Carolina residents like you were explained in detail to key senators and representatives in Raleigh, including the leadership of the Senate, House, and both chambers’ finance committees. Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.

The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.

We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of the General Assembly’s action on this matter.

Sincerely,
Amazon.com

Affiliates in North Carolina have been organizing in a thread on ABestWeb, since word came out this morning about the state fast tracking a new law.

The last I had heard about the advertising tax in North Carolina was an update from the PMA last month:

Status: Nexus Legislation is probably part of the overall budget buried in the Senate tax bill, which may pass later in the month. However, the House is committed to not raising taxes of any kind. AB 178/ H 558 (the bill to modernize Sales Tax Stat/ Digital Goods) may have at one time had the e-commerce legislation in it, but it has been taken out and pooled with other tax issues in the budget package. The senate has been quiet on the specifics of what will be included in the package. They adjourn in early July. We will keep you posted on any action that might be needed by the affiliates, but for now, we are waiting for more information.

There are a couple sessions taking place at Affiliate Summit East 2009, taking place August 9-11 in New York City, on the advertising tax.

Advertising Tax Impact, Accomplishments and the Future
Discussion on the Advertising Tax by industry leaders that have played a key role in organizing industry advocates and educating legislators on the impact of state tax nexus legislation.

• Karen Garcia, Partner, GTO Management
• Beth Kirsch, VP, Marketing and Business Development, uAmplify
• Brian Littleton, President / CEO, ShareASale.com
• Melanie Seery, President, Affiliate Voice

Advertising Tax: What Happened and What’s Next
An overview of the status of state advertising tax legislation, what to expect going forward, and how to fight it.

• Wright Andrews, Partner, Butera & Andrews
• Bennet Kelley, Founder, Internet Law Center

Also, we’ll be discussing the advertising tax at the Tax Talk & Crab Feast on Thursday, July 9 in Baltimore, MD at the buy.at office.

UPDATE

The MGECOM blog has information on fighting the advertising tax legislation in North Carolina.

Follow the NC advertising tax on Twitter at #ncaffiliatetax.

Coverage from the News & Record (Greensboro, NC): Amazon warns N.C. affiliates about tax issue

LinkShare has posted a map that details the areas of North Carolina with affiliates – pretty much every square mile.