Amazon Shuts Down Associates Affiliate Program In California Over New Tax Law

Beginning Friday, a new state law will require large out of state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases that their California customers make on the Internet, a prospect eased only slightly by a 1 percentage-point drop in the tax that also takes effect at the same time.Getting the taxes, which consumers typically don’t pay to the state if online merchants don’t charge them, is “a common-sense idea,” said Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the legislation into law Wednesday.But those taxes may come with a price. Amazon and online retailer Overstock.com Inc. told thousands of California Internet marketing affiliates that they will stop paying commissions for referrals of so-called click-through customers.