[Jon Nunez]

Hello All,

As I'm sure you've heard, Internet Sales Tax in the state of Florida is now a possibility - http://tr.im/DvqU

We need to act quickly. I will be requesting statistics from Brian at SAS and my contacts at the other affiliate networks and requesting a meeting with our State Representative as soon as I have enough information to represent our case. I would like to schedule a conference call with anybody interested in participating(esp. the ones who have been involved with this occurring in other states) to gather as much information as possible. Information regarding anything you believe has "helped" to prevent this situation in other states is especially valuable. Please reply to this post, PM me or email me at jnunez@footballfanatics.com with your availability within the next week.

[mellie]

I think a conference call prior to meeting up in person would be helpful and would enable everyone to participate. Let me know if you would like Affiliate Advocacy to set it up.

[Jon Nunez]

Mellie,

That sounds good. I will change my post to request a phone meeting to get started more quickly and allow people out of state to chime in. Any information is appreciated.

[Trust]

Might not be as bad as we think? I understand we still need to take a look at this to be sure but I just read -

"For the second time in several weeks, Florida newspapers have reported on legislators wanting to tax internet sales. DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS JUST YET. I’ve spoken to multiple lobbyists and policy experts about Florida, and there is no clear indication this has anything to do with an affiliate-targeting advertising tax. This mostly likely has to do with the streamlined sales tax, which would allow charging sales tax on all internet sales. Our experts strongly believe Florida will NOT implement an advertising tax because their financial leaders strongly support a streamlined sales tax approach."

http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/2009/10/29/florida-advertising-tax-scare-not-so-fast/

[Stephanie Lichtenstein]

I just saw that post as well. Be that as it may I still think it is better to take a proactive approach IMO. It is something that probably will come up in the future so it is good to do the homework and be prepared.

[mellie]

The purpose of my original post was to share the information with all affiliates so that they may prepare in advance. I did not seek to create panic but to inform. In my opinion, waiting until the last minute or ignoring the buzz in a state is harmful. The facts are that at recent school board meetings taxing Internet sales by out of state merchants was discussed. It has also been discussed on other local levels. As most effective lobbyists will tell you having relationships with legislators in advance helps when you need to get in touch to discuss pending legislation.

I believe affiliates in every state should prepare in advance. New sessions will start before you know it. If you think it can't happen or have an impact remember NY, NC, RI. Look at the impact in CT, Hi and other states where there was only pending legislation.

Big difference between preparing and panicking, little difference between waiting and non action. Prepare now and you can jump into action when needed. No affiliates should have to hear "we don't have time to act" or "we have to pick our battles and not spread ourselves too thin".

[AffiliateSummitMissy]

Please let me know when the call is being held.

[Jon Nunez]

I don't believe anybody was panicking, just preparing for the worst. I'd like to educate myself and others more on this issue as much as possible so if we do have to deal with this situation occurring in our or another state, we have our ducks in a row.

Is everyone available Tuesday November, 10 at 3 pm EST?

[gamweb61]

Daytona Beach here.

I know my State Senator Evelyn Lynn was pushing this earlier, but I thought it died out.

http://forum.abestweb.com/showthread.php?t=116175

[Cornelius Fed-Tax.net]

Hi all,
It sounds like this group is pretty up-to-speed on the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA), but in case anyone would find it helpful, we wrote a position paper on the SSUTA vs the Advertising tax approaches a few months back. You can see it here: http://blog.fed-tax.net/2009/07/20/complexnexus/

[mellie]

Call is scheduled http://forum.abestweb.com/showthread.php?t=126469
We will be covering all states.

[Jon Nunez]

I've registered

[mellie]

You are all set Jon

[dflsports]

Here's something that I don't get. I think I mentioned this to Mellie when we spoke in Albany.

I'm not the most tech savvy guy or up to date on this issue, but what keeps most retailers from collecting state taxes? Is it the paper work? Lack of a system in their carts to stay on top of sales tax rates? Or something else?

I know of at least 1 company that has a up to date database (so they claim) with the tax rates for the entire us and supposedly they can integrate this data with many carts.

If this data could be used for most retailers, would it not be easy enough to collect taxes and let affiliates generate sales for them?

[danay]

k, the 7reach team is signed up for the call.