I’ve been considering a return to living in Maryland, after 15 years or so in New Jersey, but the current affiliate tax legislation, SB 1071, is giving me cause for concern.
In addition to my brother living in Maryland, as well as many friends from high school and college, I have a growing frustration with living in one of the states (New Jersey) with the highest rate of taxes.
But then Maryland Senate Bill 1071 comes along. If I were to move to Maryland, and this bill had become law, I would no longer be welcome in many affiliate programs.
LinkShare has mapped out the locations of their affiliates in Maryland that would be affected by the passing of SB 1071.
I was considering a move to that really densely affiliate populated area between Baltimore and Washington.
In addition to my affiliate business, which I’ve been growing since 1997, I’d be bringing along Affiliate Summit, Inc. and my personal income from the conference and consulting to be taxed by the state of Maryland.
But if the state passes SB 1071 into law, a law that would be openly hostile to the way I make my living, I wouldn’t feel nearly as inclined to move to Maryland.
I hope Maryland Senate President Michael Miller and his fellow lawmakers take into consideration that SB 1071 would have the impact of putting those people in the LinkShare map out of work, reducing their income tax and increasing their dependency on state programs.
Not to mention the collateral damage of the state being less attractive to potential future residents like myself.
I see Senator Miller represents Prince Georges County… I lived there from 1976 through 1995 (Laurel, College Park, Bowie). Will I return? Let’s see what happens in Annapolis.
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The law that passed last year in NY has been hideous for affiliates to deal with. The lost revenues have been tremendous!! I can’t express enough the importance of affiliates speaking up now while they still can. The other states think that since NY got their law through, everyone else can now too. It’s VERY dangerous turf for affiliates, so please take a few minutes to talk with your legislators!!
In what universe does this type of non-sense taxation make sense? I guess the states will do anything to collect sales tax from purchases made online. How incredibly unconstitutional and Un-American.
Move to Texas. We don’t like taxes down here, besides, where else an you wear flip flops and boots all year! Good luck!
It is amazing that at a time when the economy is in a recession that some state legislators see raising taxes as a solution. The more you tax an activity, the more you discourage that activity. The data for this is overwhelming.
What Maryland is proposing is double taxation on affiliates as they are already paying income tax on the money they earn. However, the proposal in Maryland is even more draconian as it is essentially an economic death sentence for affiliate marketers there. All affiliate marketers that wish to remain in business will have to leave that state the day this legislation is enacted.
Any affiliate that earns a significant amount of income from is going to pack up their businesses for a more friendly tax environment. I would consider relocating to one of the nine states that has no income tax and is less likely to impose the “Affiliate Tax” such as Texas or Nevada.
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