Battle Heats Up as Virginia Senate Passes SB660, Colorado Reminder of the Power of Grassroots Efforts

Politicians are slow to learn but quick to look for money. As SB660 clearly shows, Virginia is no exception to this rule. Made from the mold of other so-called Amazon Tax bills, SB660 passed a vote on the Senate floor 28-12. Its potential passage has dire consequences for Virginia affiliates.

What’s most frustrating about the seemingly never ending folly of such bills is that even their authors, Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr. in Virginia’s case, seem to know they are bad bills. Just take a look at the fiscal impact statement (pdf) published by the Senate Finance Committee of SB660:

When similar legislation was enacted in Rhode Island and North Carolina, large online retailers ended their affiliate programs. If this were to happen in Virginia as a result of this bill, there would be no additional revenue collected from the enactment of this bill. In fact, by ending affiliate programs Virginia vendors  would likely lose business and remit less Retail Sales and Use Tax to the state.

The knowledge of what happened in Rhode Island is telling since despite the fact Rhode Island collected no revenue from the tax the Virginia Senate Finance Committee went on to approve the bill to the Senate floor.

SB660 now moves to the Virginia House where it will have slightly stiffer opposition than the Senate. Affiliates still have a chance to rally in opposition. One good pressure point, as Adam Viener of Imwave pointed out, is Governor Bob McDonald who delivered the GOP response to President Barrack Obama’s State of the Union address in which he said:

“We must enact policies that promote entrepreneurship and innovation so America can better compete with the world. What government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation, and litigation that kills jobs and hurt the middle class.”

The fight against HB1193 in Colorado serves as a great example of what a grassroots effort can do. Although the bill was not defeated it was changed significantly by the efforts of a group of around 150 affiliates. Recently Lisa Picarille, Content Strategist for the Performance Marketing Association, wrote an inspiring article covering those efforts. In the article Lisa quotes Nicki Hayes, a director at Adperio, as saying,

“Personal, specific communication also seemed to help. While organized efforts are great, the biggest response I received was by physically going to the Capitol to visit Senators (with other crusaders) face-to-face, and following up with those Senators via email. If they see you putting the time and effort into fighting the bill, they will give you the time and attention to at least argue it.”

Many people in the affiliate marketing industry consider the battle against HB1193 as a victory, affiliates were removed as the target of the bill. It should be noted that the exact impact of the legislation if enacted is still unknown. There is some debate as to how the new changes will impact ecommerce in Colorado. Since retailers are risk adverse and Colorado did leave the ludicrous subpoena clause in the bill, those concerns are not without warrant.

That being said there is no doubt that it was the efforts of Colorado affiliates that changed the course of HB1193. They did so despite facing a one-party controlled legislature and a bill essentially introduced by Governor Bill Ritter as part of what has become  known as Ritter’s Dirty Dozen. Those are some incredible odds to overcome.

Affiliates in Virginia, and other states facing similar legislation, still have a chance to stop such bills.

For resources on how to contact and educate your local representative visit either the Performance Marketing Association here, or Affiliate Advocacy here. Both are great resources.