NY judge tosses Amazon.com lawsuit over sales tax

A New York judge has tossed out a lawsuit brought by Amazon.com Inc that challenged the state's right to collect sales tax from out-of-state Internet retailers. New York State Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten wrote in an order released Tuesday that "there is no basis upon which Amazon can prevail." The original complaint, filed last April, argued that a newly-enacted tax statute in New York was unconstitutional, overly broad and vague. Through Amazon's "Associates Program," the company pays unaffiliated Web site operators across the country a commission if they advertise Amazon on their sites. Those ads often allow consumers to click through from the advertiser's Web site to Amazon.com. Under New York law, that amounted to solicitation of business in the state.