Sadly, this isn't new. New York state has been very aggressive in collecting sales tax.
See this article about NY based Overstock affiliates being dumped.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/...york-affiliates-overboard-to-avoid-sales-tax/
And New York state isn't just going after affiliates, but even people, regardless of location, who do on-line consulting. Yep, really.
So far, such efforts have been limited in scope - most small business people still aren't aware of the sales tax risks, but as the economy gets worse, states will get more aggressive in tracking down such businesses.
Getting back to North Carolina - their argument is they're not seeking to tax Amazon, but rather affiliates based in North Carolina. So Amazon can still legally continue to sell items to NC residents without charging sales tax.
Could Amazon keep it's NC affiliates - yes, but Amazon would either need to charge all NC customers sales tax or more likely, charge sales tax on NC affiliate originated purchases, but that becomes a hassle to track, and more to the point - a customer relations nightmare ... customers would sometimes get charged sales tax and other times not without understanding why; many would take their business elsewhere.
As time goes on, it's likely Amazon will become even more of a gateway / advertising venue for independent merchants to sell their wares. Already much of what Amazon sells is via 3rd party marketplace sellers.
It's just a matter of time before all major on-line retailers charge sales tax. That will be a great opportunity for many smaller on-line sellers who will skirt the rules by staying under the radar so to speak. With the economy getting worse and sales tax approaching 10% in many places (yes really! many cities, school districts, etc have their own sales taxes that are in addition to that of the state rate), people are willing to make far more of effort to avoid sale tax than they would have in the past.
Ron
