Today I'm mad. Very mad. At Democrats. They've reduced my income, reduced commerce within Colorado, and simultaneously reduced the income of the State of Colorado.

On January 22nd, 2010, Colorado Democrats proposed legislation that would impose onerous tax compliance regulations on out-of-state businesses selling and doing business with businesses and individuals in Colorado, including those with affiliates in Colorado.

This was supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. It was signed by the lame-duck Democrat governor who has already decided not to run for re-election.

Today I received the following notification from Amazon.com:

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to "voluntarily" collect Colorado sales tax -- a course we won't take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado's new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

Thanks a lot, Democrats. Your idiotic tax legislation just reduced commerce, cost me money, reduced my income, and as a result reduced the amount of taxes I will be paying to the State of Colorado. And since I'll be receiving less money from an out-of-state company, I will be spending less money in Colorado's economy.

See how this works in real life? I'm frustrated and amazed that some legislators--for the sake of accuracy lets just call them Democrats--can be so amazingly ignorant regarding reality. This is not rocket science. Conservatives and Republicans are constantly telling Democrats that more regulation and more taxes kill businesses and ultimately reduce the amount of taxes the government collects. Yet, in spite of clear examples like this, they never believe us. Why?

This same thing doesn't just happen when it's done by local and state governments, it applies equally at the national level. Increasing taxes and regulations decreases business and economic growth. It's that simple. This is never a good idea, but an even worse idea in a struggling economy.

Democrats are the definition of insanity and they must be stopped at the local, state, and federal level in November. Anyone that thinks there's no difference between the two parties is not paying attention.