Amazon's Exit Spurs Tax Fight in Texas
The planned closure of an Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in a suburb here has opened a debate about whether taxes or jobs is the better answer for Texas’ tattered budget.
The online retailing giant said last week that it would close its center in Irving due to a dispute with the state comptroller, who is demanding that Amazon pay $269 million in sales taxes it should have collected on goods sold to Texas residents.
Comptroller Susan Combs, a Republican, said she was disappointed to see the facility’s 119 jobs go, but her duty was to collect.
That position had caused discomfort for Gov. Rick Perry, who promotes his policies as job-creating. In a rare public disagreement with a fellow Republican, he said Ms. Combs made the wrong call.
