California’s Amazon tax has been successful…
…In encouraging Internet entrepreneurs to leave California. Who saw that coming? Besides, you know, everyone outside of Sacramento.
Last month, news broke of one California-based online entrepreneur who had decided to ditch California and move to Nevada in the aftermath of Gov. Jerry Brown signing the law. ”I always figured that in California, home to Silicon Valley and a million tech startups, they’d never pass a law like this,” said Nick Loper, who formerly operated ShoesRUs and has now opened a new venture, ShoeSniper.
Per the piece in which Loper is quoted, more than 70 affiliates had at that stage already left California, according to online businesses.
Then, last Thursday, another online entrepreneur, Erica Douglass, posted a mock “It’s Over” letter to California on her blog. Douglass, who sold an internet company she had built for $1.1 million in 2007 when she was just 26, cited multiple reasons for moving to Austin. Among them were unnecessary paperwork requirements mandated by the state, and high taxes as well as business fees. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back, was according to Portfolio, Brown signing the Amazon Tax into law.
Apparently, the thinking was that Amazon would never halt its California affiliate program—though they’ve done so in every state that’s passed a similar law—and, Lord, the money, it would start rolling in! And even if Amazon did close down the California affiliate programs, why, the affiliates would simply switch to other affiliate programs, and the state would still get it’s money. It was a win-win for everyone.
Well, Sacramento was right about one thing: The affiliates are switching. To other states.
To be fair, it was slightly more realistic than Sacramento’s other plan, which was that flying unicorns would swoop in to sprinkle magic pixie dust on the state’s economy. Sadly, that plan was tabled in the Assembly’s budget committee. At least if they’d gone with that, I’d still be able to make a little spending money off Amazon.
Is it just me, or is the Tree of Liberty looking a little…parched?
~
Dale Franks
Google+ Profile
Twitter Feed
California seems to be on a roll … out of the ditch, over a cliff
Dale!! They moved to California; they knew what they were getting into. I say, “Let ‘em crash”.
Hey, I didn’t move to California, I was born here. And I’m stuck here … for now. I’m very, very tired of being outvoted by morons.
But remember: the rich WANT to pay higher taxes!
/ sarc
Remember a couple of years ago when the lib meme du jour was “the blue states subsidize the red states”? Yeah, how’s that working out?
Heh.. Illinois raise the tax rates (so we could get more money, and by only increasing spending a little, we’d balance that ol’ budget). Since then, Revenue has fallen.
As near as I can figure, Illinois is trying to race California to see who goes belly-up first.
It’s embarrassing enough to live in California, and this nonsense doesn’t help. The logical outcome of the state’s progressive policies.
Hey, I’m ALL for the Federalist ideal of 50 laboratories, trying this or that…
ESPECIALLY from my vantage point in Texas…!!!
We have great models of the Collective in Kulhifornia, New York, and Detroit…
“Is it just me, or is the Tree of Liberty looking a little…parched?”
I immediately pictured Peter Lorre saying “Yesss, Doctor. The tree-It must be watered.”
Or, for you younger folks, “Feed me, Seymour!”.