Stephanie Lichtenstein

Happy 4th of July Friends!

I am happy to share some good news regarding the advertising tax. I am sure many of you have already heard that Governor Schwarzenegger announced he was going to veto the advertising tax in California. More information was blogged about it by Shawn earlier this week. Shortly after, the Governor of Hawaii also decided to veto the tax. Following these announcements, Overstock decided to retract their prior statements. I wanted to take a moment to share the letter from the President of Overstock:

July 1, 2009

Dear Affiliate:

We are delighted to inform you that we have reversed the decision to terminate our contracts with our California-based advertising affiliates. Our Chairman and CEO, Patrick Byrne, today received a call from Governor Schwarzenegger’s Office and the Governor’s Office assured us that the Governor’s actions of last night will stand. He sent back to the legislature the revenue package, rejecting new tax initiatives, including that which provoked our termination notices. The Governor has pledged that there are to be no new taxes enacted this year, and the budget must be balanced by government cost-cutting.

We also were told that the Governor recognizes this is an issue that impacts California’s reputation for business which the Governor prefers to remain strong.

We were asked to reverse our decision of yesterday, and we happily obliged, based on these assurances. We will begin the process of canceling the expirations initiated last night and hope we do not have to revisit this issue again.

We apologize for any disruption of your business owing to these events, and thank you for your support of our position. We believe that the contacts received by the Governor’s office on this issue today were chiefly responsible for this turn of events.

Respectfully,

Jonathan E. Johnson III
President
Overstock.com, Inc.

This is a great victory for our affiliate partners in California and Hawaii. I am so grateful that this happened. I only wish for this to occur in all the other States. Make sure to keep in touch with your local State representatives and keep yourself informed. We live in a Country where we do not have to roll over and take it. We can make our voices heard. Remember to stand up for what you believe is right.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!