[southernbg]

Thank you for the update. I really had no idea that this was even going on. :-(

[akagorilla]

HB 993 is dead. But the project is still alive and will be handled by the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure.

We need more affiliates to step up and contact state legislators right away. Contact me if you have questions.

[msladybug]

<big sigh> Thanks for posting the update. What timeline are we looking at now with this Special Committee? I will be contacting you tomorrow for a bit of guidance, if that's okay.

[msladybug]

Is there a new bill number for this Special Committee that we should be referencing when contacting our state legislators?

[tlemke]

It's back! The vote could come as early as this week.

Deal, GOP lawmakers quietly craft tax plan *| ajc.com

[akagorilla]

My guy says it doesn't look good. Time to get in the life boats.

[akagorilla]

the end is near.

[msladybug]

Originally Posted by akagorilla

the end is near.

What exactly does that mean? Is it being voted on now?

[tlemke]

The tax bill has cleared the House by an overwhelming margin, could be voted on by the Senate this week. I don't see the Senate stopping this, and the governor will surely sign it -- he worked with Republican legislators to draft the bill. The end is indeed near.

State House passes tax overhaul *| ajc.com

[akagorilla]

It passed the Senate too. My friends on the committee moved the minimum to $50,000 but i told them it was pointless. The amazons of the world will axe us for $1 or $50,000. They don't want to have to run the reports either way.

It's sad really. There were only a handful of affiliates that stood up for themselves. When the termination letters start pouring in this summer after the Governor signs the bill, I will have no sympathy for those who complain.

[new_jersey_nexus]

Per: House blesses tax bill, but critics slam process, consequences
House blesses tax bill, but critics slam process, consequences *| ajc.com

I'm looking over HB 386
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20112012/111293.pdf

Can someone please point out where the "affiliate marketing nexus" legalese is?

I only see the following which sets up a voluntary program and has nothing to do with affiliate marketers:

4384 PART XI
4385 SECTION 11-1.
4386 Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is
4387 amended in Code Section 48-2-6, relating to organization of the Department of Revenue, by
4388 adding a new subsection to read as follows:
4389 "(f) The commissioner is authorized to provide by contract for the collecting and remitting
4390 of sales and use taxes by nonresident businesses who sell products to buyers located in this
4391 state and who are not otherwise obligated to collect and remit sales and use taxes. The
4392 commissioner may engage the services of a recruiting coordinator to solicit such11 LC 18 9799
H. B. 386
- 124 -
4393 nonresident businesses to participate in a voluntary program to collect and remit to the
4394 department sales and use taxes on their sales to buyers located in this state or provide for
4395 other appropriate methods of collecting and remitting such taxes in a voluntary program."

Am I looking at the right Bill?

[akagorilla]

So maybe I got some bad info. It hasn't passed the Senate but it will Thursday.

[akagorilla]

Originally Posted by new_jersey_nexus

Per: House blesses tax bill, but critics slam process, consequences
House blesses tax bill, but critics slam process, consequences *| ajc.com

I'm looking over HB 386
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20112012/111293.pdf

Can someone please point out where the "affiliate marketing nexus" legalese is?

I only see the following which sets up a voluntary program and has nothing to do with affiliate marketers:

4384 PART XI
4385 SECTION 11-1.
4386 Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and taxation, is
4387 amended in Code Section 48-2-6, relating to organization of the Department of Revenue, by
4388 adding a new subsection to read as follows:
4389 "(f) The commissioner is authorized to provide by contract for the collecting and remitting
4390 of sales and use taxes by nonresident businesses who sell products to buyers located in this
4391 state and who are not otherwise obligated to collect and remit sales and use taxes. The
4392 commissioner may engage the services of a recruiting coordinator to solicit such11 LC 18 9799
H. B. 386
- 124 -
4393 nonresident businesses to participate in a voluntary program to collect and remit to the
4394 department sales and use taxes on their sales to buyers located in this state or provide for
4395 other appropriate methods of collecting and remitting such taxes in a voluntary program."

Am I looking at the right Bill?

Yes, that's how they word it and the Georgia Dept of Revenue interprets it however they feel.

[tlemke]

I've been giving this some thought, and there is something that has been bothering me.

We can mobilize affiliates all we want (and beat ourselves up for not having enough representation), but our voices amount to nothing.

On one side we have the powerful lobbyists for the brick and mortar stores, and their undue influence over clueless legislators. (And in Georgia, a clueless governor)

And on the other side ----? Nothing. Where are the lobbyists for amazon.com and the other Internet merchants? Nowhere to be found. That's very interesting, because there is a very powerful story here that's not being told. The supporters of the Internet tax for Georgia say it will bring in $47.7 million per year in ADDITIONAL tax (that's over and above what macy.com, sears.com, nordstrom.com, etc. will be remitting to the state anyway). That additional money will supposedly come from amazon.com etal.

That, of course, is baloney. After all of the affiliates are terminated, the net increase in sales tax revenues will be $0. And, a key part of the tax bill will collapse. This is what happened in other states, and the template is already set up for our termination.

Plus, of course, the state will lose the income tax we have been paying as affiliates.

So why wasn't this covered? Why didn't the online merchants provide this as background info to the state legislators and the press? Why didn't they spend a tiny amount of their revenues and hire a Harvard or Yale economics professor to do a "study" of what happened in other states that have enacted similar legislation? Why indeed? This is a guided missile that was never fired. In fact, not even a toy pistol was fired. Nothing. Nada.

I think I have it figured out, and we're in the middle. I don't think our merchant "partners" give a flip about us. We're expendable. Maybe this is even good news to some of them, because they can dismantle their affiliate programs slowly, state by state, until they no longer have the expense of administering them.

So when we get it in the head this week with the passage of the tax bill, I think we have our merchant partners to thank. I know they have a very special place in my heart now (sarcasm intended).

[akagorilla]

Amazon has two lobbyists on the ground at the Georgia capitol. But they are there for their own needs, not ours.

Rebecca Madigan is focusing on the federal legislation but has been able to help out here and there with this battle. She needs to focus time and resources on one battle, not 50.

The overall apathy or general misunderstanding by the common affiliates is at the 99% level on this topic.

[tlemke]

But they are there for their own needs, not ours.

I agree, and I think that's the problem. There are hidden agendas here, and conflicting priorities. I don't think we're in sync with the merchants (or at least not with amazon.com).

The house of cards that has been built for this tax bill is so fragile that it seems it could be pushed down easily if the truth was made public.

[akagorilla]

Can you handle the truth???

The truth is that a pledge was made to Caterpillar that the removal of the energy tax on manufacturers will be phased in over 3 years starting July 1st and they are desperate to find revenue to offset this.

[Plaid Skirt Marketing]

Greg,
Found this and thought - if you haven't already seen it, that you might use it as ammo.

'Amazon Tax' Fails to Raise One Cent of New Revenue: Chicagoist

Takeaway - they try and tax more and get less.

Chris

[akagorilla]

Originally Posted by Plaid Skirt Marketing

Greg,
Found this and thought - if you haven't already seen it, that you might use it as ammo.

'Amazon Tax' Fails to Raise One Cent of New Revenue: Chicagoist

Takeaway - they try and tax more and get less.

Chris

Thanks but they are blind here. I've sent that to the Senate.

[akagorilla]

If the Governor signs this today, I might throw up.

Tax Plan passes Georgia General Assembly

[msladybug]

The way they just pushed this through so quickly, I wouldn't be surprised that the Governor signs it today. Got to make good on those campaign promises and not worry about the real revenue facts to this bill.

Oh, I just love this quote from the article you posted.

"It's not as comprehensive as I thought it might be, but it is a good package," said Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, who carried the plan in the Senate. "It is pro-jobs. It is pro-families. You can go home after today and be proud of voting for it this session."

Yeah, killing 6000 tax paying small businesses already in Georgia is really pro-jobs and something to be proud of.

[akagorilla]

Originally Posted by msladybug

The way they just pushed this through so quickly, I wouldn't be surprised that the Governor signs it today. Got to make good on those campaign promises and not worry about the real revenue facts to this bill.

Oh, I just love this quote from the article you posted.



Yeah, killing 6000 tax paying small businesses already in Georgia is really pro-jobs and something to be proud of.

Amen sister.

[akagorilla]

When the termination letters start coming in, be sure to send them to Rep. Matt Ramsey. He said to my face that he didn't believe any online merchants would terminate relationships. He said it was just a scare tactic.

Here is his page on the Georgia House Website.

[msladybug]

I'm thinking of sending copies of all of my termination letters to my representives and the Governor so they can see the real effect of their PROUD bill. I suggest other do this as well. It may have no effect on these clueless people but at least I'll feel better about it.

Added: LOL - We're thinking alike, I was posting the same time you were. Rep. Matt Ramsey will definitely get a copy too.

[AffiliateHound]

My sympathies to all of you Ga residents. We went through this just a few months ago in Ca, and the the one year delay that temporarily postponed permanent imposition of the tax is rushing by with little hope of a federal resolution. Without that, the tax will again become law in Ca in six months.

The one thing that I can say based on the Ga experience is that people who assume this is a party-line issue are dead wrong. When it was passed by states with Democratic majorities and Governors, many assumed the party line stance, and some in red states have felt safe.

Party affiliation, as you in Ga now know, is irrelevant in the reality of politicians of both parties catering to special interests and grasping for illusory silver-lined clouds, ignoring the facts in their own states and the now documented experiences in other states.