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If you live in NC, run a website, and earned a little extra money from the Amazon associates program, you won't be able to anymore, due to laws proposed by the NC General Assembly. The huge online bookseller, Amazon, has no physical presence in the state, and refused to succumb to taxation without representation.

Even if the website servers are located outside the state, or outside the United States, NC residents will no longer be able to earn any money as an Amazon associate. This will force some NC small businesses out of business if they depended entirely on a small revenue stream from Amazon. With zero income, the small businesses are likely to stop paying any income tax. Some may even turn to state welfare programs, so this will be a double whammy. Here is the email every Amazon associate in NC received this morning.

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 26, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme expected to be passed any day now by the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) and signed by the governor. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 26. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation’s effective date.

Please be assured that all qualifying referral fees earned prior to June 26, 2009 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with our regular referral fee schedule. Based on your account closure date of June 26, 2009, any final payments will be paid by September 1, 2009.

In the event that North Carolina repeals this tax collection scheme, we would certainly be happy to re-open our Associates program to North Carolina residents.

The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.

We have enjoyed working with you and other North Carolina-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team