[michaelpinto]

How many states does it take Amazon to lose until they change their policies? Yes I understand the legalities of it — but there is something very strange about the fact that if I buy a 99 cent app from Apple they can collect the extra sales tax but if I purchased a $99 physical item from Amazon that they feel it's too hard.

As an affiliate here in NY I run a small side biz that generates a great deal of revenue from Amazon and I hate where this thing is going (what kills me is that it's a decent source of income — but not enough to pack up my bags and get a new address).

[Vivtek]

The difference is that Apple presumably has a legitimate, taxable presence in NY, whereas Amazon has none in Illinois.

[storborg]

They probably won't ever change their policies--I would venture to guess that the margin they gain from the affiliate program is less than 8% of their total revenue (which is very approximately what they would lose if they were forced to collect sales tax).

[dedward]

It's also about running the affiliate programs themselves....

Amazon isn't stupid - who knows what the specific strategy is here, politically or otherwise - they've capitulated in some states, turfed others - it all probably comes down to the numbers.