Over 5,000 small sellers have joined together to oppose California’s affiliate nexus bill, AB 153.

This legislation attempts to force out-of-state sellers to collect California taxes on sales to state residents. Presently, the US Supreme Court regards state sales tax systems as unreasonable burdens on interstate commerce, so sellers only have to collect taxes for states where they have a physical presence.

We recognize that now is a period of economic discomfort for the states, where lawmakers are searching for new sources of tax revenue.  However, the pursuit of tax revenue is no excuse for legislation that disregards the very document on which this nation is founded.

This latest dis’ of the US Constitution comes in the form of Alabama’s tax reporting bill, HB 365.

On Friday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) delivered its list of demands for Google to complete its acquisition of ITA, a leading provider of travel search tools.

We applaud DoJ’s recognition of the competition problems that could result from Google’s acquisition, and support their efforts to protect consumers through a consent decree.  In addition to requiring that Google license ITA software to competitors already using the software, DoJ also imposed monitoring procedures to prevent abuses after the acquisition.

We all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch.  Everything comes at a price, including free Internet content and web services, nearly all of which are paid for by advertisers.

Proponents of “Do Not Track” legislation talk about giving consumers what they want, but nobody is asking whether consumers want to start paying the price — if advertisers won’t pay the bills anymore.