It's almost like having a storefront physically in NC, which would traditionally require a multi-state retailer to collect sales tax in that state.
It's nothing like this. This isn't about NC wanting to collect sales taxes on purchases made by buyers in NC. And while Associates are involved, they're not involved in the purchase at all. They simply forward traffic to Amazon and if the customer buys, they get a commission. This is completely different from a retail store that's holding inventory from vendors and handling the actual transactions with customers. This is quite literally just like hearing about something from someone. If I live in NC and I send an affiliate link to a friend who lives in NY for a book on Amazon and that friend purchases it, NC is claiming they're owed sales tax on that sale. That makes zero sense. They're taxing my income on the commission, which is enough.
I think you are misinterpreting the law. As I understand it, the law is both better and worse than your interpretation.
Better, in that your hypothesized shipment to NY won't be subject to NC sales tax -- only the payment of the commission occurred in NC, not the sale.
Worse, in that all shipments to NC residents will be subject to sales tax -- even if those sales did not start with an in-state Associate referral.
In the view of the law, the presence of the in-state Associates means that Amazon has a paid sales force operating inside the state borders. That, just like having offices or warehouses or storefronts, makes Amazon liable to collect sales tax on all sales into NC.
They are paying people and facilities inside NC to help them sell. In some cases -- and I imagine those cases that generate the most commissions -- the in-state facilities display product names, pictures, descriptions, and prices. Sounds enough like a 'storefront' to me that Amazon should pay the same taxes as their in-state competitors.
It seems like reality has outgrown the individual states sales tax regime. The current tax system sounds like it contains ridiculous levels of distortion. Seems like time to rewrite.
It's nothing like this. This isn't about NC wanting to collect sales taxes on purchases made by buyers in NC. And while Associates are involved, they're not involved in the purchase at all. They simply forward traffic to Amazon and if the customer buys, they get a commission. This is completely different from a retail store that's holding inventory from vendors and handling the actual transactions with customers. This is quite literally just like hearing about something from someone. If I live in NC and I send an affiliate link to a friend who lives in NY for a book on Amazon and that friend purchases it, NC is claiming they're owed sales tax on that sale. That makes zero sense. They're taxing my income on the commission, which is enough.