Technology Companies

The internet has resulted in a shift in our buying patterns and a decline in sales tax revenues. With our current tax system and the nexus rules as outlined above, an out-of-state retailer (translation - a retailer without nexus in the state) selling goods to a consumer or business over the internet is not required to collect sales tax. It is the buyer's responsibility to self-assess the tax and voluntarily remit use tax to the state. Most businesses are aware of this nuance but many consumers are not.
States ensure compliance with these laws through business audits; however, the states don't have the bandwidth, nor is it practical, to audit every consumer. So instead of going after the consumer, states are looking to implement taxing rules that require the out-of state business to collect the tax.
This is why "affiliate nexus", and the "Amazon Law" or "click through nexus" have evolved. These are ways in which states have tried to use the existing nexus standards to require out-of state retailers to collect the tax that otherwise would not have been collected. The typical scenario occurs when an out-of-state business forms a relationship with an in-state business (often referred to as an affiliate) for the sole purpose of customer referrals via a connection to the out-of-state business's website. For this referral, the in-state business receives some type of commission or other consideration. The relationship established through the affiliate programs creates nexus for the out-of-state business, creating an obligation to collect and remit local sales tax. Multiple states including Illinois and California have introduced recent affiliated nexus legislation mainly targeting large internet retailers such as Amazon, hence the title "Amazon Law". In reaction to this legislation, Amazon has dropped their affiliate programs in most of these states. By dropping the affiliate programs, the company intends to terminate its nexus with the state and avoid prospective sales tax collection responsibility. However, this can be problematic as most states deem nexus to exist for a period of at least twelve months subsequent to the activity that created nexus.
The State of New York has passed legislation, called the "commission-agreement provision," that creates a rebuttable presumption that a person (seller) making sales of tangible personal property or services is soliciting business through an independent contractor or other representative if the seller enters into an agreement with a New York resident under which the resident, for a commission or other consideration, directly or indirectly refers potential customers, whether by a link on an internet website or otherwise, to the seller (click through nexus). The presumption applies if the cumulative gross receipts from sales by the seller to customers in the state who are referred to the seller by all residents with this type of agreement with the seller is in excess of $10,000 during the preceding four quarterly periods ending on the last day of February, May, August and November. The presumption may be rebutted by proof that the resident with whom the seller has an agreement did not engage in any solicitation in New York on behalf of the seller that satisfies the nexus requirement of the U.S. Constitution during the four preceding quarterly periods. N.Y. Tax Law 1101(b)(8)(vi).
Technology companies should review their affiliate programs and understand which states, specifically, have "Amazon Laws", "affiliate nexus" rules, or "Click-Through Nexus" rules. This is a constantly changing area that requires close monitoring. At the time of publication, California passed a 1-year repeal of their "Amazon Law".