Have you heard of the so-called "Amazon Tax?"  It's New York State's attempt to force etailers collect sales taxes if they have affiliates in New York.  Amazon.com has already sued over it, and Overstock.com has decided it won't collect the tax either - but it has taken a different route.

Overstock.com is apparently taking a different approach. The company has begun sending out letters to affiliates in New York, letting them know that the company will, at least temporarily, be ending its relationships with NY affiliates.

In other words, New York doesn't get to collect any taxes from Overstock.com, and the state has probably just ticked off a whole lot of New Yorkers who had affiliate relationships with the company.

Make your brick-and-mortar retailers happy, and tick off affiliates: New York can't win.  Of course, consumers will lose, too, as they'll pay sales tax.  In reality though, we're still supposed to pay these as so-called "use taxes" (at least in California), and we all do, don't we?