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The New York State Legislature wants Amazon to collect sales taxes from New York buyers, despite Amazon not having a physical presence in the state.

Affiliates, not storefronts, figure in the forthcoming battle between online retailer Amazon.com and New York lawmakers.

AffiliateTip summarized the point where New York will treat locals who place Amazon's affiliate code on their websites as being the same as Amazon having a physical presence in New York. "If it passes legal challenges, I would imagine many other states would follow with similar plans, which could be bad for online merchants and affiliates," said Shawn Collins.

The New York Post noted how the New York Legislature dropped a provision into its recently passed budget to try and collect taxes from Amazon and other online retailers. They will have to pay state and local taxes, or face audits and other legal challenges from New York for the money.

New York expects to pull in $50 million in the first year of its scheme, $73 million in the second, the Post said. It appears the state will have to overcome a legal fight with Amazon first, as Amazon will not want its substantial edge over local businesses abrogated by the new law.