Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest online retailer, has threatened to sever ties with more than 10,000 affiliates in California amid a dispute with the state over proposed taxation of Internet purchases.

Four state proposals aimed at forcing Seattle-based Amazon to collect taxes from residents may be unconstitutional and lead to job losses, Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, wrote in a letter to the California Board of Equalization.

The letter is the latest salvo in Amazon’s fight with state governments over sales taxes. In February, the company said it would close a Texas distribution site over a similar issue. Amazon received a request from Texas last year for $269 million in uncollected sales tax, with the state contending that since Amazon has a facility in Texas, it should be collecting such taxes for online purchases.

“This is an imminent threat to California jobs,” Board of Equalization Member Senator George Runner, who received the letter, said this week in a statement.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-02/amazon-com-threatens-to-cut-ties-with-california-affiliates.html

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