This week Amazon.com, Inc. wrote its North Carolina affiliates to explain that if a suggested "click-through" tax passes, the bookselling giant could end the affiliate program in the state--cutting out website owners who earn money by featuring Amazon books on their site.

According to the News Record, the state legislature proposed $784 million in new taxes to meet a budget shortfall, including a "click-through" tax on Internet sales that could earn the state $13.2 million in a single year. If that tax change passes, then the online retailer could end the affiliate program in North Carolina.

Here's one affiliate story from the state: "For many people, their cut from Amazon is small potatoes, maybe a couple of hundred dollars per year. But [Kayla Fay] is among those who have built a business by way of affiliate marketing. Payments from Amazon and another similar vendor make up the bulk of the $40,000 she clears from her business every year." (Via Publishers Weekly)