California Affiliate Tax Passes Senate

[Melanie10]

California is fast tracking this. Today the Senate passed ABX8-8 which includes the affiliate tax otherwise known as Internet sales tax (or Amazon tax). It now moves to the Assembly.

This bill actually contains a few smaller bills but the one of primary concern for our industry is the Internet sales tax. Last year the Governor vetoed AB178 but it is unclear what he will do this year. Opinions are mixed due to the extreme budget deficit California is facing.

Link to ABX8-8 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/abx8_8_bill_20100217_amended_sen_v98.pdf

It's a long bill and I need to read it more carefully but it appears that if it passes and the Governor does not veto that some affiliate- merchant relationships will be at risk.

 

[Linda Buquet]

They totally sneaked this in on us. It was supposed to be voted on tomorrow I think,
but they slipped it in this AM. So frustrating!

Thanks for posting Melanie and keeping us up-to-date as always!

 

[Melanie10]

If more states take this fast track approach we could be in trouble. Last year it was tough watching a handful of states and their omnibus tax bills and bills such as ABX8. We caught them last year but may not be so lucky, at least 20 states need to be monitored very closely this year. Some of these omnibus bills average well over 100 pages.