[tomsem]

KQED (SF NPR station) interviewed one of the CA Tax Commissioners yesterday. She was of the opinion (apparently shared by the sponsors of the law) that the new law required online retailers to collect taxes, regardless of whether affiliates program exists here. She said she 'hoped they would' (don't think she was under any illusions about this). Amazon has offices and employees in CA, though they are not storefronts.

Of course whether or not out of state retailers are legally required to collect the tax, CA residents are legally obligated to pay them. Amazon is certainly not the only online retailer that doesn't collect sales taxes, I would be hard pressed to name one that does (when they don't have CA B&M stores).