Performance Marketing Industry & Hawaiian Affiliates – Time to Email the Governor!

The Performance Marketing Alliance has an all hands on deck alert for networks, merchants, service providers and affiliates to get involved in fighting the Advertising Tax in Hawaii.  As you may well know, the status of the affiliate marketing sales tax legislation in Hawaii has reached a critical point. The bill, HB 1405, has been sent to the Governor’s desk. We need everyone in the industry to help and most importantly, we the help of Hawaiian affiliates. We need to reach out to Governor Linda Lingle and ask her to veto the bill. Hawaii affiliates need to email or send a letter to the Governor as soon as possible.

Below are two sample emails networks, merchants and affiliates can send and info and contact information for the Gov. This strategy has proven to be easy, yet effective.

NETWORKS, MERCHANTS email letter to get your affiliates active BELOW
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Dear Hawaiian Affiliate:

The Hawaiian legislature has sent an anti-affiliate bill, HB 1405, to
the desk of your Governor, the honorable Linda Lingle. This
legislation could force out-of-state merchants to shut down their
affiliate programs.

How would that impact your business?

If you live in Hawaii, it is critical that you send an email of
opposition to the Governor as soon as possible! It is our hope that
the bill will be vetoed by the Governor. With your letters of
opposition, she will hear your opinions voiced and increase the
chances of a veto.

So please contact Governor Linda Lingle as soon as possible, even over
the weekend. Because your businesses are under threat, it is
imperative that your messages are heard.

More background information can be found here on the PMA website.
www.performancemarketingalliance.com

Below is an e-mail template to use and the contact information for the
Governor. Please send an e-mail; it will only take a few minutes of
your time.

Email Template – copy and paste. Don’t forget to personalize the bracketed sections. Sometimes it is easy to overlook them in a hurry.

Thank you.

(e-mail: governor.lingle@hawaii.gov )
_____________________________________________________________________________

AFFILIATE EMAIL TEMPLATE TO SEND TO THE GOV ASAP
[letterhead]

[Date]

Her Excellency, the Honorable Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawai`i
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawai`i  96813

Subject: Opposition to HB 1405

Dear Honorable Governor:

I am a small business owner with a website, and I am in strong
opposition to HB1405, which would require retailers that advertise and
receive direct or indirect referrals from advertising on websites,
such as mine, to collect sales tax in Hawai?i.

I am opposed to this bill because it would substantially harm my small
business, by reducing a large source of revenue that I rely on to
survive. This revenue results from providing advertising on my website
on behalf of out-of-state retailers.

[Describe your type of business, the % of income dependent on
out-of-state advertisers, number of employees you may have, and what
you contribute to the local economy.]

If retailers believe that doing business with me will result in their
having to collect sales tax on all Hawai?i sales, they likely will
sever ties with me, putting the viability of my business at risk. Such
was the case in the state of New York, where Overstock dismantled its
performance advertising program and hundreds of other business
followed Overstock?s example. This left thousands of small- and
medium-sized business owners with a major loss of income.

For these reasons, I respectfully oppose this legislation.

Sincerely,