[Chuck Hamrick]

Springfield, IL…State Representative Dave Winters (R-Rockford) will be hosting a press conference at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 26th in Room 217-N of the Stratton Building in Springfield to discuss suspending the recently enacted affiliate nexus tax, or what is commonly referred to as the “Amazon Tax.” Rep. Winters will be joined by Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President Kristina Rasmussen and President/CEO of ShareASale, Inc. Brian Littleton to discuss the negative economic impacts of the newly established online sales tax and legislation aimed at suspending Public Act 96-1544. When the law was enacted in July, thousands of Illinois small businesses saw a devastating reduction in their income, forcing many to leave the state or close their doors.

WHO: Representative Dave Winters, Kristina Rasmussen (Illinois Policy Institute Executive Vice President) and Brian Littleton (President/CEO of ShareASale, Inc.)

WHAT: The negative impacts of the affiliate nexus law on Illinois entrepreneurs and how a suspension will give lawmakers time to implement a constitutional alternative that benefits the state.

WHEN: Wednesday, October 26th at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: 217-N Stratton Building (Second floor, North Wing, East Corridor of Representative offices) at 401 South Spring Street, Springfield, IL.

[bibby]

Chuck, this is not intended on bumping your post. Does anyone know the chance of such a bill passing?

[Brian - ShareASale]

Thanks Chuck for posting this... Looking forward to introducing this tomorrow. As always, we would encourage as much participation from affiliates in Illinois - please just email me and I can show how to help.

[Alan Hamilton]

So Brian, how did the meeting go? Any real possibility of this succeeding in the IL house?

Thanks - Alan

[Brian - ShareASale]

Alan,

There is a good review of the events of the day here:

Illinois Policy Institute - Blog - How to stop pushing jobs out of Illinois

I'll try to post some more later .. it's a busy Friday!

[Chuck Hamrick]

[Brian - ShareASale]

Thanks for posting those Chuck - here's an update on what was said.

We met with the Representative, and the IPI about the bill and why we all feel it needs to be repealed. There was another major protest going on at the State Capitol so it was a little hectic everywhere to say the least!

This particular veto session is very short, which means that it will be difficult to get this repealed immediately - but it is very good momentum for a larger scale effort in January.

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association was there - they were the main driving force behind this bill - and their argument was pretty much "Why repeal, just leave it as it is while we work on a federal bill".

It is easy to say that when your industry isn't seeing job loss and companies forced to move due to a piece of legislation that has no positive benefit. It also doesn't make much sense.

The bottom line, and it is very simple to see: The bill didn't work. It is hurting people instead. The obvious move is to repeal it and work on a Federal bill.

Our industry continues to be an actual advocate for a Federal bill, as well as help for our friends on Main St. I've personally been in contact with both sides of the aisle in Washington D.C. and there is good progress being made on a Federal solution in my opinion. You may hear me mention the ModernMainStreet.com site in the video above - which is our effort to show that we are truly working for a solution to this problem which helps everyone and doesn't damage affiliate marketing.

There is no reason for this bill in Illinois to exist anymore - it clearly didn't' work, and it cost Illinois money and jobs. There's really no other angle to look at it. If it had actually helped Illinois Main St. retailers, there might be an argument... but it didn't, plain and simple.