Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

After Colorado tried a creative approach to taxing E-Commerce purchases—forcing E-tailers to tell consumers how much state sales tax they owe—Amazon shot back Monday (March 8) by cutting off all its Colorado affiliates. Colorado’s governor issued a statement indicating understandable confusion, because the law doesn’t address affiliates and the Amazon move doesn’t spare them from the new requirements. The implication: that Amazon’s move was pure spite, designed to punish state businesses—and therefore the state–without helping Amazon.

Amazon’s E-mail said: “The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to ‘voluntarily’ collect Colorado sales tax—a course we won’t take.” Said Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter: “Amazon has taken a disappointing—and completely unjustified—step of ending its relationship with associates. While Amazon is blaming a new state law for its action, the fact is that Amazon is simply trying to avoid compliance with Colorado law and is unfairly punishing Colorado businesses in the process.” The battle of E-tailers Versus State Sales Taxes continues.