Link in the OP is broken.
Try this one... or maybe I can just quote from it:
Quote:
NEW YORK | Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:33am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble Inc has invited independent Web operators that are affiliates of online retailer Amazon.com to switch to its network.
The affiliates, which are paid a fee when they drive traffic to Amazon that results in a sale, have found themselves in the middle of a battle between Amazon and several states that argue Amazon has a duty to collect sales tax when those affiliates operate in their state.
In an open letter, Barnes & Noble invited affiliates of Amazon to join its group, saying it would take care of collecting and remitting sales taxes due on Barnes & Noble Web sales on their behalf to shield them from action from state tax auditors.
Barnes & Noble also accused Amazon of preferring to harm those businesses "than comply with state law."
An Amazon spokesperson could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Barnes & Noble said its network has 13,000 affiliates.
With sales of books at its bricks-and-mortar stores in a long-term decline, Barnes & Noble has invested in developing it its Web presence and its Nook electronic reader to win a share of the growing e-books market.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba, editing by Maureen Bavdek)
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btw, I live in Oklahoma which is one of the states that is trying to claim sales tax for residents' online purchases. I wonder how this will turn out.