Amazon Associates Program is Back for Minnesota Businesses

If you’re a Minnesota resident and you operate an online business, this is big news: beginning October 1, Amazon started collecting Minnesota sales tax from Minnesota customers.

This means the Amazon Associates program is up and running again in Minnesota.

When Amazon shut down the program in Minnesota in 2013 (in response to a new state law) it hurt online businesses that received revenue from the Associates program. For me, it killed revenue for a really nice golf website that I had developed. I ended up selling the site to a buyer in New York.

To test if the Associates program truly is open again for Minnesotans, I applied for a new Associates account. My request was granted, and I have begun adding products to one of my websites.

Unfortunately, business owners in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, and Rhode Island are still barred from the Associates program.

Here’s the pertinent language from Amazon’s latest operating agreement.

October 1, 2014 version
In addition, if at any time following your enrollment in the Program you become a resident of Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, or Rhode Island, you will become ineligible to participate in the Program, and this Operating Agreement will automatically terminate, on the date you establish residency in that state. In addition, you must promptly notify us in writing of your Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, or Rhode Island residency, which you may do via the Contact Associates Customer Service form available here.