Simply put, having associates and affiliates in Colorado would have required that Amazon obey HB 1193. By eliminating the affiliates, Amazon can do business in Colorado without violating any laws, and it can do so profitably. Amazon’s competitors have will do what Amazon has done to make sure that they can sell in Colorado legally and profitably without complying with 1193.

As far as I can tell, the affiliates program is mostly a loyalty program designed to build loyalty among owners of web sites who become affiliates. I doubt Amazon makes much if any money running the affiliates program, and I’m pretty sure that very few affiliates make more than $100 oper year so from the program. Most affiliates probably make much less, if anything.

What’s important about 1193 and the other tax increases recently signed by Ritter is that they show small business owners how anti-business John Hickenlooper, Bill Ritter and Democrats in the General Assembly are.

What I’d like John Suthers to say is that he won’t try to enforce HB 1193 because it’s unconstitutional and unenforceable.