I’ve been in conferences all day – having a great time if only for my 3 day long headache 
I was just emailed this video that aired yesterday on CBS 5. Please feel free to ask questions and Mr. Frugal and I will respond in the comments section. We’ve received so many emails about this and we want to make sure you understand what’s going on. Just to clarify, Amazon is getting most of the publicity but CA affiliates have lost relationships with many other companies.
One other clarification – Julie Watts said that most Californians don’t pay state taxes on their online purchases. What that means is if you make a purchase on Amazon, at the end of the tax year you’re supposed to pay the taxes on that as a part of your personal tax filings. Since most residents of CA aren’t doing that CA has instated this new tax to recover some of that last income. CA is now asking Amazon to pay state taxes as if they were a business located in the state of CA, which they are technically not. So in turn Amazon has pulled the plug on all Amazon affiliates – which included us.
Rebecca Vander Weit Campbell via Facebook August 5, 2011 at 4:56 pm
I feel your pain Julia! I’m in Illinois and we’re losing a lot of our affiliates too!
Nancy Durell-Koch via Facebook August 5, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Wow how sad, so sorry.
Nancy Durell-Koch via Facebook August 5, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Wow how sad, so sorry.
Erin August 5, 2011 at 7:05 pm
I’m so sorry this is affecting you. I just signed a petition to have it repealed. California just keeps killing jobs and wonders why unemployment is so high. Best wishes for you and your family in Oregon!
Ronni August 5, 2011 at 7:58 pm
What is Jerry Brown thinking! If you people lose income, the state loses the Income Tax they collect (like that really helps with the budget). Hard working Californian’s like yourselves are right behind you, ready to get out. I’m afraid this is the beginning of the worst for our beloved California.
I’m so sorry you have to leave, but I know you will be happy there!
Denise August 5, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Seems like most of these problems are in the liberally run, economically depleted, poor business managed states like CA, IL, and a few others. I just think it is sad that they will try to force people into paying for their mis managed funds and ideas. They dig the hole and everyone else has to fill it but them. It’s just another reason I’m glad we moved out of CA.
Christie August 5, 2011 at 8:43 pm
I am glad I know it is cheaper to shop amazon, but what about all the stores in Ca that have to pay taxes and pay for the workers medical. The taxes help us with disability where other states don’t have it. So the way I see it if they pull out then more people will shop the stores and it will help us get out of debt.
Denise August 6, 2011 at 10:52 am
I can see why you would think that Christie. I see it a different way. I see that a lot of people have made and allowed certain things to happen to CA to raise it’s debt to higher than most of the other states. We all have issues don’t get me wrong. But if CA wants to really get out of debt they need to get rid of the high taxes and penalities for individual business owners and businesses in general so that they will want to come to CA to build their businesses back up. When we were doing well, it was when CA had lots of businesses and that was due to low taxes and the fact that the country in general usually follows CA in what they are doing. Now people flock to other states because they can’t financially survive. Maybe if they get them back it will bring more buisnesses which brings more money paying citizens and then creates revenue for the state. JMO though!
Jenelle August 5, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Wow…CA never ceases to amaze me. This is the opposite of the Great Depression-everyone is fleeing CA this time. It is no wonder why major corporations are closing down and opening in other states who don’t have such high taxes. When will CA ever learn that you can’t help the wage earner by punishing the wage payer. I wish you luck in your relocation and will continue following your blog. Love love love it! You are the only one who gives us Raleys deals!!
Nicole Molina Kleven via Facebook August 6, 2011 at 9:35 am
lol! It was great!
Amanda August 6, 2011 at 9:40 am
I’ve only been blogging for a couple of months, but I finally got a solid readership and am ready to enter the world of affiliation…except I live in Illinois, which is doing the same thing CA is. It’s really sad because I’ve worked hard to build a readership, only for bureauocracy to step in and block the path. I used to work for the State of IL in a dept that processed legislators’ pork projects. We wouldn’t be in the mess we were if legislators were responsible…and after all this they are still doling out the pork…by the millions! Argh!
Martha August 6, 2011 at 9:42 am
The amount of taxes that California receives is among the highest in the country! They need to cut all the waste before they ask for a penny more. They ALWAYS spend more than they take in.
The Frugal Find via Facebook August 6, 2011 at 10:28 am
I’m not really sure why they zoomed in on me there, or why they picked THAT close-up to use. I guess I give funny looks sometimes
– Mr Frugal
Yvette Rupp via Facebook August 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Thats too bad that ‘politics’ and money are pushing businesses…and families….out of the state. I like in CA too. But I hope you flourish and do even better up in Oregon. Good Luck!
Terry August 6, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Where is the link to the video? I’m so confused…
Jenny August 6, 2011 at 8:03 pm
I don’t see the link with the video either…Would like to see it though…
Amber F August 6, 2011 at 10:53 pm
sorry to see you go. I’ve already signed the petition to try to place it on the ballot to repeal. The lesson here, as with so many other burdensome laws passed by liberals: VOTE CONSERVATIVE. God’s best to you in OR.
Harry August 7, 2011 at 1:15 pm
From your description of the situation, it sounds like you’re ripping off the State of California. Seems like you owe them some taxes and just don’t want to pay it.
Denise August 7, 2011 at 2:09 pm
First of all, who said in any of that, that she wasn’t paying. You don’t know, so don’t assume. The problem is whether she was paying or not, AMAZON is the one that is pulling the business because of other people not paying and the law that was passed that makes it hard for AMAZON to run it’s business through the state. That is when she lost 40% of their income. This was not anything about whether Julia and her family are paying the taxes or not. Being that she is a very honest, christian individual I would ASSUME that she is and that it is very hard for her to survive. Now without AMAZON she needs to move to keep her business alive. Your response was uncaring, rude and presumptuous and you should be ashamed of behavior like that.
Ronni August 7, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Well said Denise.
Julia August 7, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Harry – That is not at all what this law is about. We have ALWAYS paid our taxes. That is not what this law is about – it’s about the fact that AMAZON does not want to pay the CA state taxes as if they are a business in CA, because technically they are not.
Bob August 7, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Harry,
Go back under your rock !!
Rick August 7, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I’m with Harry… seems to me like most of you want to have good public schools, nice freeways, good health care options, and public infrastructure that works, but don’t want to pay for it and nothing is free folks!
If a corporate outfit like Amazon, which uses public infrastructure transporting their stuff all over the country doesn’t want to pay taxes like the rest of the mom and pop stores down the street and outfits like Walmart and Barnes and Noble, than I have a problem with that!
We pay taxes because we are a “we” society unlike a “me” society aka Haiti, and we want to have the benefits of the “shared public commons” that are owned by “we the people”.
Another thing don’t put down the Blue States, because California, Illinois, and New york are net contributors to the US Treasury as opposed to many of the Red states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky that take out much more that they pay into the system.
Source: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/the_red_state_ripoff.html
We should be focusing on the race to the top as opposed to a race to the bottom, because I would rather Mississippi be much more like California than California be more like Mississippi.
Julia August 7, 2011 at 2:21 pm
If we as Californians would have been paying the taxes on our online purchases all along (when you file your yearly taxes) this law would not have come about – but the simple fact is that very few people do this.
Denise August 7, 2011 at 2:40 pm
So again you are assuming that she was not paying her taxes when she informed you that she WAS… Not everybody tries to cheat the system. And people that have any common decency should know not to assume these things and accuse people of things that they did not do. However; Amazon is pulling their business out of CA because of this law. This is not Julia’s doing. In order for her business and family to survive she needs to move out of state to keep Amazon’s business. Plus I’m sure there are a few other factors involved of a personal nature. Why are you attacking her? Really, do you not have bigger fry? I you have a problem go up against Amazon themselves, not the little people that pay their CA taxes and use their business and advertising.
Last time I looked CA schools were 49th in the country, the roads are horrible ( I would know, we just moved out of there, native CA’s), the state is bankrupt, the infistructure, well lets just say it’s not that great either and they have no money to fix it. So as I see it, all this so called laws and higher taxes are making them just about at the bottom of the pile here. And if you knew how Amazon worked you would know that they use the USPS, UPS and Fed Ex and give their money to those businesses that use all states not just CA. Amazon is strictly internet and doesn’t use brick and morter buildings like Walmart or Target or others, which is why they don’t have to do CA taxes on items like other retailers that have brick and morter business there in the state do. Also, Amazon has a national internet sales tax so they don’t have to deal with all the different sales tax rates. This is supported by Amazon and put in place along with the Democratic party. Even though I do not agree with it because it is just another tax to take money away from hard working individuals and give it to the government. One of the reasons Haiti is the way it is, is because their government takes all the money except from the elite. Sounds like what CA is trying to do. Go pick on Amazon if you don’t like something, don’t pick on the ones that are following the rules.
Denise August 7, 2011 at 2:42 pm
*bigger fish to fry? Correction there too.
Bob August 7, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Rick,
You said it , go with Harry.
Denise August 7, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Correction *not needs to be inserted before whether she was paying or not. It got left out by accident. And I wouldn’t want people to be presumptious about it.
Halima H. August 7, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Julia,
I completely understand why you’re moving. If my husband and I were about to lose 40% of our income, we’d move, too! It’s such a shame that our state government couldn’t figure out a more reasonable way to deal with this situation. What do other states do??
Jim August 10, 2011 at 6:25 pm
For the Rick and Harry’s out there that can’t figure it out on their own. Affiliate marketing has nothing to do with public infrastructure. Julia’s readers click a link that takes them to an Amazon site anywhere in the world where a purchase can be made. Julia’s server / web page/amazon link can be located anywhere. But because Julia’s home address is in CA, the state wants Amazon (based in Seattle) to pay a sales tax on a transaction between a customer in some location( ie Iowa) and a seller somewhere (ie Florida). What does CA think they provided in that equation. All I see is a self destructive crack attack doing anything to score the next fix no matter what the long term ramifications…. ie driving productive citizens and business out of CA.
Kim @ Mommysavers.com August 11, 2011 at 6:24 am
Hi Julia – I’m so sorry this has affected you! I would be devastated too. At BlogHer last weekend someone told me about http://skimlinks.com/. It is a third party service that pays you for running your Amazon links through them. I haven’t investigated it thoroughly, but it may be worth checking out.