Filed under: Business, Internet
Overstock.com to NY: No tax dollars for you!
The state of New York recently adopted a law that requires online retailers to collect taxes for items sold in New York if they have affiliates based in the state. That might sound like a reasonable request if New York shopping malls were littered with Amazon and Overstock.com kiosks. But the affiliates the law refers to are web publishers and bloggers in NY who happen to post links to stores like Amazon and Overstock in exchange for a small commission.
Needless to say, some folks aren't too happy with the ruling, and Amazon has already sued NY. Overstock.com is apparently taking a different approach. The company has begun sending out letters to affiliates in New York, letting them know that the company will, at least temporarily, be ending its relationships with NY affiliates.
In other words, New York doesn't get to collect any taxes from Overstock.com, and the state has probably just ticked off a whole lot of New Yorkers who had affiliate relationships with the company.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bufsabre said 2:36PM on 5-14-2008
new york averages the highest tax rates in the nation, and they want more, what a surprise, ive never ordered anything from overstock but now the fact is i cant and thats despicable, someone in the state senate needs to challenge this law in order it get a temporary appeal and a review by the state judiciary comity
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phill said 2:53PM on 5-14-2008
you CAN buy things from overstock. you just can't be a blogger living in NY linking to overstock items.
Rocketboy said 4:52PM on 5-14-2008
Is there a way to give half a post a thumbs up, and the other half a thumbs down? Yes NYS is overtaxed, but your not reading the post is very thumbsdownish.
rodan32 said 2:38PM on 5-14-2008
Reminds me of Atlas Shrugged, a little. Government just taxes and taxes until finally the people paying strike.
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brandon said 3:08PM on 5-14-2008
eh, no one makes any money from affiliate links anyway.
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monsoondawn said 3:18PM on 5-14-2008
Typical self-defeating Overstock move. Rather than fight, Overstock is telling its affiliates to do business with someone else. No matter the outcome, it is unlikely Overstock will get this business back.
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Shiva said 3:56PM on 5-14-2008
don't be ridiculous. this isn't overstock's fight to have. by directly affecting NY constituency, overstock is forcing the issue correctly.
put it another way. NY voted in the winners who enacted the law, so it's their responsibility to get it repealed. this is a consequence of an action, and a good one. in fact, this is how ALL unfair taxes/fees should be handled: refusal to do business.
-S
Rocketboy said 4:57PM on 5-14-2008
Shiva.. Don't blame all of us. NYS politics are as corrupt as they come. And us actually smart people are constantly being outnumbered by the the think that they are smart crowd. What do you expect from the moron block that voted a carpet bagger as state senator. Regardless if you like Hillary or not, you have to at least entertain the thought that it was was nothing but a political grab when she ran for senate. She has no connection to NYS (except the house she bought just in time), nor does she care about NYS. Don't get me on what a joke Spitzer is/was. I can easily show what a dolt he is, w/o bringing up his whoring.
Wanderer said 8:20AM on 5-15-2008
I guess we should all get addresses in Bermuda :-)
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