One of the keys to Amazon.com’s remarkable growth has been their “affiliate” program. They allow anyone to link to Amazon products and get a cut of every purchase. It’s a great program for Amazon, because it gives them a sales force with hundreds of thousands of members, none of whom need a salary. And it’s good for customers, too, since it gives people an incentive to write about the products they like, that others might like, too. In fact, some bloggers have been able to make a decent income off of Amazon affiliate payments. But all is not well for Amazon or Amazon’s affiliates.
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Where are the First-Time Homebuyer’s Checks?
With the recent talk of raising the first-time homebuyer credit, one important question is still open: why are the current checks taking so long to go through? No one expects the tax credit to be instantaneous, and of course the IRS will need to validate each claim. But reports of delayed tax credits are pouring in — and when the tax credit is a key part of financing a new home, this has people nervous.
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Realtors Association Calls for Higher New Home Tax Credit
One of the fastest responses to the real estate slump was a new homebuyer credit. The plan, of course, was to stimulate new home purchases. It may have already had an effect — housing starts have jumped lately, and the property market has stabilized — but that may not be enough. If the National Association of Realtors gets their new plan enacted, the credit will be nearly doubled, and the “First-Time” part of “First-Time Home Buyer Credit” will be dropped.
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