Amazon, Texas Reach Deal To Pay Sales Tax

Online retailer Amazon.com reached an agreement with Texas officials Friday to settle a sales tax dispute by expanding operations in the state and starting to collect sales taxes.

The deal comes less than a year after Amazon shut down a distribution center in Irving to protest a $269 million tax bill sent by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs in 2010.

Combs and Amazon said in a joint statement that the settlement calls for the company to bring at least 2,500 jobs and $200 million in capital investments. The company will begin collecting and paying sales tax July 1. Last year Gov. Rick Perry denounced Comb's decision to collect the taxes, saying it would cost Texas jobs and discourage companies from moving to Texas.

The announcement came the day after Amazon posted first-quarter profit that blew away analysts' estimates and boosted the company's stock.

The move is a dramatic reversal for Amazon, which has fought hard across the country against being forced to collect state sales taxes. Texas law requires companies with a physical presence in Texas to collect sales tax.