Affiliates Not Allowed From North Carolina

Amazon and others are resistant to Internet sales taxes, including affiliate commissions. Most states don't tax amazon; North Carolina wants to and therefore Amazon said 'Sorry, but no thanks, we will do business in the other states that won't tax us'

North Carolina implemented a law which requires internet businesses to collect sales tax from their customers under certain conditions - one of which was the use of affiliates in that state. For a host of reasons, Amazon has tended to drop states from their affiliate programs which have passed these laws. Many other internet businesses did the same, leaving affiliates in those states with fewer options.

However, retailers that sell online but also have brick and mortar stores were already required (in most cases) to collect sales tax for online purchases and, therefore, had no need to shut down their affiliate programs. Places like Walmart, Sears (through Google Affiliate Network), Home Depot, Target and Best Buy still have affiliate programs in place for states like North Carolina.

In addition, there's something called Skimlinks (which I know by reputation only) which some people have used in place of Amazon because affiliates in impacted states can promote Amazon through Skimlinks. The commission rates are reduced but it's one alternative that comes up often.