Breaking News: Affiliate Tax Passes Colorado House

House Bill 1193 (the Affiliate, Advertising, Internet tax) just passed the Colorado House of Representatives by a vote of 33-32.

Brian Littleton, CEO of ShareASale, and Lisa Picarille both reported that Rep. Joe Rice may have been the first Democrat in any state to speak out against the tax, so perhaps there is a silver lining there. According to Littleton, he wasn’t necessarily opposed to the idea of the tax, but he knows that it won’t work. He is right! It won’t! It just means good affiliates in Colorado are going to seek out homes elsewhere while others have to give up.

One vote! That was the difference.

It’s on to the Senate now. From there, the last line of defense is the Governor and the outlook is bleak there.

As a side note (and I will post much more about this later), I do want to to say that at first glance, Colorado affiliates really had their act together and were really organized. Way to go guys!

Is your state organized? Because it’s likely coming your way, unfortunately. In case the threat didn’t seem real before, it’s getting all too real in some places now.

If you are a Colorado affiliate it may be time to take Melanie Seery’s advice and “Identify vulnerable merchants and find replacements.”

We will keep standing up for what is right. No affiliate terminations on my watch!