Amazon dropping 10,000 affiliates in California

[Old Hippie]

It is very easy to know how I will vote on any proposition: If it involves any new money to the government (be it a "tax", "fee" or by any other name), I will vote against it. I will continue to do so until the government can show me that they will spend it wisely.

I firmly believe that the government (local, state, regional, national) brings in plenty of money, they just piss it away. The California state government in particular.

Why would you vote otherwise?

MotionMan

And are you going to determine what "unwise spending" should be spent wisely?

Looks to me that the problem is there's no consensus on unwise/wise spending?

I always encourage people who know the correct answer but in this case I see no correct answer including yours.

I'm not wanting a fight but pointing to a fact.

 

[TheNinja]

Amazon would lose 99% of my business if I had to pay sales tax. Amazon doesnt have the lowest price most of the time but because of the sales tax savings they're usually cheaper than local B&M.

I would still shop if they had free shipping and similar prices as B&M. A lot of my incentive to shop at Amazon is so that I don't have to go out shopping in a store. I can sit on my computer, research stuff, and buy exactly what I want when I want without dealing with crowds and cashiers. Then the stuff just shows up at my door!

 

[The_Dude8]

I think if you buy from amazon.com, you don't have to pay sale taxes; you only pay sale taxes if you buy from one of 25,000 CA affailiate that sold their goods via amazon.com

 

[Eos]

Amazon would lose 99% of my business if I had to pay sales tax. Amazon doesnt have the lowest price most of the time but because of the sales tax savings they're usually cheaper than local B&M.

I would still shop if they had free shipping and similar prices as B&M. A lot of my incentive to shop at Amazon is so that I don't have to go out shopping in a store. I can sit on my computer, research stuff, and buy exactly what I want when I want without dealing with crowds and cashiers. Then the stuff just shows up at my door!

Times infinity. I recently tried shopping locally and it was hell. The workers didn't know what I was looking for*, and I had to wait while they asked around for someone who did know what it was.

*Kreg screws.

 

[ponyo]

I would still shop if they had free shipping and similar prices as B&M. A lot of my incentive to shop at Amazon is so that I don't have to go out shopping in a store. I can sit on my computer, research stuff, and buy exactly what I want when I want without dealing with crowds and cashiers. Then the stuff just shows up at my door!

Instantaneous gratification > waiting for a week for a product to show up. Sometimes I pay the extra 10% at the B&M store vs Amazon to have the product right away. 10% is huge for B&M to overcome.

 

[Eos]

Instantaneous gratification > waiting for a week for a product to show up. Sometimes I pay the extra 10% at the B&M store vs Amazon to have the product right away. 10% is huge for B&M to overcome.

Yikes. Amazon Prime lets me avoid that awful week thing you're referring to.

 

[Platypus]

I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles
And never frowns
Soon I will be president...

Carter Power will soon go away
I will be Fuhrer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school
Your kids will meditate in school!

California Uber Alles
California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California
Uber Alles California

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back you say
Mellow out or you will pay
Mellow out or you will pay!

Now it is 1984
Knock-knock at your front door
It's the suede/denim secret police
They have come for your uncool niece

Come quietly to the camp
You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp
Don't you worry, it's only a shower
For your clothes here's a pretty flower.

DIE on organic poison gas
Serpent's egg's already hatched
You will croak, you little clown
When you mess with President Brown
When you mess with President Brown

:thumbsup:

 

[ponyo]

Yikes. Amazon Prime lets me avoid that awful week thing you're referring to.

I have Amazon Prime too. Currently on another 3 months free trial. I had free Prime 8 out of 12 months last year. They keep offering to me. I would never pay for the service. Especially without sales tax savings. Still product today > product in 2 days.

 

[Eos]

I have Amazon Prime too. Currently on another 3 months free trial. I had free Prime 8 out of 12 months last year. They keep offering to me. I would never pay for the service. Especially without sales tax savings. Still product today > product in 2 days.

For you, maybe not for everyone. See above.

 

[nick1985]

Still product today > product in 2 days.

Sounds like you love to waste money

 

[Dirigible]

WTF is this crap??????


Take this garbage to P&N you fucking fucktards!

 

[nick1985]

WTF is this crap??????


Take this garbage to P&N you fucking fucktards!

eat shit

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I live in a state that doesn't have sales tax, so regardless of where I order merchandise from, I never pay tax on it. However, if a company does business in a state with sales tax, I don't think they should be able to take advantage of loopholes to avoid paying taxes. I understand why they do it, but corporations that do billions of dollars in business should be paying their fair share of the taxes due in the municipalities where they are doing business according to the applicable laws. It's absurd that Amazon shouldn't be liable for taxes in California because they are an "online" store; I've seen the giant warehouses they have outside Long Beach.

California's economy is totally fucked and taxing Amazon isn't going to fix it. But letting giant corporations off the hook for hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in tax revenue isn't an equitable solution either. Amazon; taking up land in various states, reaping massive profits, cutting into other business' profits in those states and using loopholes to avoid paying taxes in any one of them. Winning!

 

[MrDingleDangle]

why are people talking about having to pay taxes, we still won't have to in California, because Amazon is just pulling its funding from its affiliates. So the bill basically causes no new state taxes and a loss of jobs

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...n-calif-affiliates-over-new-sales-tax-law.ars

Amazon has informed its California affiliates that it's shutting down the program immediately

 

[JulesMaximus]

Fucking whaaa...Amazon is going to have to realize that they can't continue to be exempt from collecting state sales taxes forever.

If they keep dumping their "affiliates" in states that want to collect sales taxes from internet sales, pretty soon, they're only going to have "affiliates" in 3 or 4 states...

This.

Amazon is just fucking itself out of business. I love how people skirt paying sales tax and then bitch when their B&M stores go out of business because nobody in state is supporting them.

Fuck Amazon.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Sounds like you love to waste money

Did you know that legally you are required to pay sales tax on something you bought out of state and weren't charged tax on?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

why are people talking about having to pay taxes, we still won't have to in California, because Amazon is just pulling its funding from its affiliates. So the bill basically causes no new state taxes and a loss of jobs

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...n-calif-affiliates-over-new-sales-tax-law.ars

this is an ethics debate, that's why.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

In theory making amazon charge sales tax is fine, but in practice all they have to do is take their money and their jobs to the 45 other states that dont have this law, all it does is decrease the money in california.

 

[JulesMaximus]

In theory making amazon charge sales tax is fine, but in practice all they have to do is take their money and their jobs to the 45 other states that dont have this law, all it does is decrease the money in california.

You think California is the only state doing this?

As a Californian I'm going to boycot Amazon.

 

[Ninjahedge]

The lesson is simple. They need to make far reaching uniform regulations involving ALL these companies and their practices on the net.

Things to be careful of are unfair buisness advantages over B+M, and the possibility of interstate or international migration if they find the new law too costly.

Putting a marginal tax (state a national maximum) that is portioned to both the merchants and the consumers home state and you will have something.

I do not see why all this is so difficult. Wasn't there tax on all phone and mail orders back in the day?

 

[Ninjahedge]

Oh, BTW, do not straw man this argument. This aint about illegal immigrants, although some politicians would like to slap that dead cat on this issue.

Regardless of how the money is spent once collected, the issue is collection. How do you get a "fair" collection when NOBODY wants to give up the state services that they enjoy (and EVERYBODY has at least something they use that is partially funded by the government... except maybe the Unibomber.....).

NOBODY wants their money taken, and every company wants to increase their profits.

So if we all get what we want, we will have the government pay for everythnig for us while not charging us a dime.


Yeah. Immigrants. That's the problem, not us at all.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

You think California is the only state doing this?

As a Californian I'm going to boycot Amazon.

they are 1 of 5 from what i understand...Texas, Illinois, New York and South Carolina

 

[Farmer]

Dropping them where? Into the Rio Grande?

 

[Atomic Playboy]

they are 1 of 5 from what i understand...Texas, Illinois, New York and South Carolina

In other words, four of the five largest states in the country (California, Texas, NY and Illinois). That's fairly substantial; roughly one third of the US population is living in a state where Amazon refuses to maintain a physical presence to avoid taxes. As the larger states go, so do the smaller ones tend to follow. And it's not even a blue state thing, with Texas and SC in there.

But if the people support Amazon's right to not pay taxes, well, then I guess Amazon will keep laughing all the way to the bank and passing those charges onto the consumer.

 

[Brainonska511]

But if the people support Amazon's right to not pay taxes, well, then I guess Amazon will keep laughing all the way to the bank and passing those charges onto the consumer.

Amazon isn't even paying the taxes though. They would just be the collection entity that remits taxes to the state. They would merely have to pay the small cost of hiring some company to figure out all the tax rates (just like any B&M business does).