After Amazon’s rebellion, summarized in the quote below, the Governor of Hawaii vetoed the tax, and Amazon has now invited its former affiliates to rejoin the program.
Lesson: sometimes entrepreneurial enterprise can fight the government, and win.
(p. B7) Amazon.com Inc. has informed its marketing affiliates in Hawaii that it is ending its business with them to avoid collecting sales tax in the state.
Lawmakers in Hawaii, following in the footsteps of North Carolina and Rhode Island, have passed legislation that would require companies to collect sales tax if they have marketing affiliates in the state. Affiliate marketers run blogs or Web sites and get a sales commission by featuring links to outside e-commerce sites.
For the full story, see:
GEOFFREY A. FOWLER. “Amazon Cuts Ties to Affiliates in Hawaii.” Wall Street Journal (Weds., JULY 1, 2009): B7.