Amazon fights back

Description:

Colorado recently passed a law allowing the collection of taxes from online purchases in an attempt to narrow a gap in the state’s budget. The law requires online retailers to collect taxes or provide the state with a summary of purchases by residents. An undeniable target of the new law was one of the largest online retailers Amazon.com.
Amazon quickly struck back at the state by terminating partnerships with its Colorado affiliates who receive money from Amazon by referring sales to the online retailer through their own websites. The move was reported by The Huffington Post which also had a copy of the letter Amazon sent to Colorado affiliates. The main question many affiliates had was why?
A Wall Street Journal article on the news reported some people believe Amazon’s termination of affiliates was a political manuever. That opinion is backed up by Amazon’s letter to the Colorado affiliates which stated:
You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.
In response, the Governor is quoted as saying:
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.
It’s clear Amazon is applying pressure in response to the state law by taking money directly out of the pockets of Colorado residents and pointing them to express their frustrations at state government. Amazon is drawing a line in the sand through the termination of Colorado affiliates in an effort to persuade other states not to take the same plunge or face a similar retaliation.