The end of an era or a time for new opportunities, new thinking?

[Linda Buquet]

So what you are essentially saying is that it will be cheaper for a company to do away with affiliates than to collects this unwieldy tax.

That's how some retailers will look at it and many did when NY adopted their tax bill.

If I buy from a brick and mortar store then I expect to pay sales taxes, but if I buy from an out of state store via mail order or internet I do not expect to pay said taxes.

Technically you already owe tax on all out of state Internet purchases. You are supposed to pay it on your income tax form but no one does.

And because I refer people to your company and I happen to live in a state other than the state of the offices of the web company then why does the company have to collect taxes for my state just because I referred that customer?

If a company has enough combined sales FROM affiliates in that state TO consumers in that state, then these new bills say the retailer has nexus - meaning a physical presence in the state. So they are essentially considering independent affiliates to be the same as if the company had sales offices in the state.

So one of the important things we are trying to stress is that affiliates DON'T MAKE SALES, they ONLY DO ADVERTISING for the merchants.