New York Taxing the Internet

Remember back when you received bogus Email's claiming there was going to be a tax on the Internet?  Ahhh… those were the good ol’ days. It has taken a while but it appears like the tax man is coming. It’s only a matter of time before other states follow New Yorks lead.

In the past only companies that had actual offices in New York State were required to collect sales tax on purchases by New York residents.  This is typically the case in many states.  Last year New York informed companies like Amazon they were required to collect tax on from New York resident because they had “affiliates” in the state. While companies lobbied hard against this tax, they failed.  Just last month I was notified by one of the companies who broker affiliate deals that I wasn’t wanted.

Dear element 5 / share-it! Affiliate,

We have been working diligently over the last several months to find ways to continue our relationship with you given the new tax laws recently enacted. Unfortunately, at this time and effective immediately, we are no longer able to allow any New York based affiliates to participate in our affiliate program. We look forward to resuming our relationship in the future if the situation allows.

We have appreciated your partnership. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the terms and conditions, please contact us at: affiliate@us.shareit.com or affiliate@us.element5.com

Best regards,
Your element 5 team

To make matters worse our current un-elected Governor Paterson has proposed to solve New Yorks budget problem by adding more taxes on the Internet. It’s called an “iTax” and will apply an 8% tax on any music that is downloaded. Our local assemblyman Jim Tedisco has even created a YouTube video to air his dissatisfaction with the proposed tax.

 You can join the fight at http://www.stoptheitax.com. Facebook users can join the “Stop the iTax” group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53869903141

If you think this tax is unbelievable the governor has also asked for a Fat Tax on soda and other beverages which contain sugar. New Yorks Health Commissioner Richard Daines has taken to YouTube to make his case.

What's "Inside Amazon" About You?

While I order a lot of products from Amazon I’ve forgotten how much they still specialize in books and the extra features available. Last night I decided to play with the Search Inside feature and just out of curiousity wondered if WinPatrol was mentioned in any computer books. I knew there were one or two but was pleasantly surprised at how many recommendations were published praising Scotty the Windows Watch Dog.

Some references include:

Lock the Boogie Man Out of Your Computer

Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet---Better, Faster, Easier

By far the most interesting mention was actually in a book created for Norton users. While I’m not a big fan of Norton Security Suites the company has had a few good innovations over the years.

Norton All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies

So just go to Amazon books and type in any term you’d like to search for and they’ll give you a list of books that include your topic. I’m sure many of you have searched your name in Google but have you searched it in Amazon?

I found a few references to “Pytlovany” including an infamous comment about my days with AOL where I am quoted as saying “A lot of people learned to type with one hand”. (Stealing Time p30)

Grocery Shopping on Amazon

When the Internet first became main stream a number of companies tried and failed to create online super markets. About 10 years ago WebVan made a big splash with investors that included Goldman Sachs and Yahoo! but failed to delivered any success.

The most successful online grocer still in business is a company called Peapod. A bit of Trivia... It's original name was actually IPOD or "Information and Product On Demand".

Now Amazon has created an online Grocery store. The key difference appears to be that Amazon is providing bulk non-perishable items which work with their current shipping models.

Amazon Grocery claims to have over 22,000 products and some great prices. I was pleased to find a few items that I can no longer find at my local market. I had to buy a few more than I normally would but I think I'll be using Amazon Grocery again.

Disclaimer: My Blog isn't designed to create any kind of direct revenue but in the interest of full disclosure, I am an Amazon Affiliate. I do make some kind of percentage if you purchase something by clicking on the link above.