HB 101 Targets Bloggers and Website Owners Who Do…
If you are live in Florida and consider yourself:
- an affiliate marketer
- a blogger or publisher that uses affiliate links in their posts
- a merchant with an affiliate program
- a network that runs affiliate offers
YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS NOW.
SB 202 Relating to Tax on Sales, Use & Other Transactions (2014 Session)
Back in March of 2014, I alerted you to an "Affiliate Nexus" Tax in Committee in the Senate, in Florida (SB202), which would have been extremely damaging to bloggers and affiliate marketers should it have passed.
Fortunately, Senate Bill 202 was withdrawn later that month and we were given a bit of a reprieve from this counter-intuitive and destructive type of legislature.
HB 101 Relating to Taxation (2015 Session)
However, just like a bad game of Whack-a-mole, additional legislature has popped up.
HB 101 Relating to Taxation (2015 Session) is in committee now that contains a new provision for all mail order/internet sales and has language that definitely targets any blogger, website owner and online marketer located in the state of Florida, who does any sort of Affiliate Marketing.
If HB 101 passed, you would likely be declined from a lot of programs automatically.
The law essentially attempts to classify you as more of an "employee" of the retailers you blog for / advertise for – thus creating an official "nexus" (kinda like a homebase) for those retailers. That nexus gives the State of Florida the right to force that retailer to collect sales tax on purchases.
Unfortunately, the Sponsors of the bills aren't paying attention to the fact that the types of laws don't work because out-of-State retailers just kill their Affiliate Programs in affected States to remove the nexus. This – is bad for ALL OF US!!
While I do not want to publicly discuss our game plan to fight this, I need you to immediately join the PMA Coalition in Florida on Facebook so that we can provide you with the information that you need and steps you can take to ensure that this legislation does not get passed in our state. All questions are welcome in that group.
Additionally, I recommend that you join the Performance Marketing Association, as they will be working diligently to provide leadership and guidance to protect against the unconstitutional laws that threaten our industry. Their memberships start at $149/yr.
Missy Ward
