***FINAL UPDATE*** We successfully defeated both of these bills! THANK YOU for all of the support and action. It made a huge difference!

1. Join the Utah PMA Coalition Facebook Page for latest updates on how to fight these bills!
2. Share this petition and your opposition to your local representative and senator. Put in your zip code to find your district, then click on the outline of the district for info on your reps: http://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp

The Utah Senate and House of Representatives have both proposed bills that aim to establish "affiliate tax nexus" laws in the state of Utah. These bills have a long history of producing counteractive results in the states that have enacted them, resulting in job loss, damaged economies and no new tax dollars for the state.

"I am a concerned Utah resident and/or an affiliate marketer in the state of Utah who vehemently opposes Senate Bill 182 and House Bill 235. I ask my elected representatives, as a Utah citizen, to vote NO on these bills."

***MORE INFO ON BILLS & TAX NEXUS***

What Does This Mean? When a sales tax nexus law is put in place, a state begins to treat affiliates as a “physical extension” of the merchants/advertisers the affiliate is promoting. If any of those merchant/advertisers do not have a physical retail presence already in the state, a sales tax nexus law means that an affiliate located in the state will now count as a physical presence- this is what is referred to as ‘nexus’. Because of this nexus, those merchant/advertisers will now have to pay sales tax in the state. House Bill 235 and SB 182 aim at making Utah one of those states that establishes nexus by use of affiliates.

OK, So Why Is This Bad? When a nexus law is passed, merchant/advertisers who aren’t already paying taxes in the affected state are now required to do so if they continue to use affiliates in that state. The alternative is to sever all ties with those affiliates- an option that most advertisers take, and one that hurts you directly as an affiliates. In other words: if Utah passes this bill, your livelihood as an affiliate marketer is greatly jeopardized.

Examples of other states passing these bills with damaging consequences:

1. Affiliate blog and deal site FatWallet.com is probably the most high-profile example of this. When Illinois passed their nexus bill a few years back, FatWallet immediately picked up and moved their headquarters to Wisconsin, a state that has vowed to never pass a nexus law because they know the consequences (and also know it will attract amazing businesses). FatWallet made this move because they knew immediately that passing this bill would terminate their relationships with out of state online retailers and completely devastate everything they’ve built. FatWallet.com employs over 100 people now. News story of them leaving is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29I-XoIIh8
   
2. BradsDeals.com is another example of the Illinois nexus bill forcing another large affiliate site to leave. They set up shop in the Virgin Islands to avoid any state passing these damaging nexus laws.
3. "Before the Amazon Tax was passed, approximately 800 Rhode Island businesses were affiliated with online retailers, which generated $57 million in local income, and $4 million in income taxes...Even more compelling is that the ‘Amazon Tax’ has not generated any sales tax receipts for the state since its inception in 2009."“This tax has probably cost the general fund.” calculated Filippi. “All businesses that had relationships with Amazon and Overstock.com lost that relationship and the income that went with it. The Amazon Tax has been all cost and no benefit.” -2015 Rep. Filipi of Rhode Island. Full summary here: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/pressrelease/_layouts...

Where Can I Learn More?

House Bill 235 can be found here: http://le.utah.gov/~2016/bills/static/HB0235.html

Senate Bill 182 can be found here: http://le.utah.gov/~2016/bills/static/SB0182.html

Learn more about how affiliate tax nexus laws damage state economies and small affiliate business at the Performance Marketing Association website: http://thepma.org