As part of the budget passed this week, California will begin compelling online retailers to collect sales tax from purchases by California residents. Major online retailers like Amazon simply don’t want to collect the tax and pass it on to the state, nor do they want to charge their customers sales tax. So they’re taking it out on their affiliates. Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Texas have already passed bills requiring online sales taxes, and Amazon promptly shut down affiliate programs in those states.