Yesterday Governor Perry vetoed a bill that would have online retailers such as Amazon collect sales tax on Texas transactions. State Comptroller Susan Combs estimates that were the state to collect its due sales tax from Amazon, the online retailer would owe $269 million.
The Statesman has an article with all of the details, including a quote from BookPeople’s CEO, our own Steve Bercu:
“Steve Bercu, owner of BookPeople in Austin, said it appears Perry has ‘chosen to favor an out-of-state retailer over the thousands of us here who employ millions of Texans. If that’s his idea of being business-friendly, it doesn’t strike me as being especially friendly to Texas businesses.'”
We all know about the budget crises that have befallen Texas schools and libraries this year. Imagine how an extra $269 million might make a difference.
When Texans shop on Amazon, they’re not only taking money out of their communities and hurting their local economies, they’re taking money away from themselves. That hardly makes saving those few dollars seem worthwhile, or feel like a savings at all.
BookPeople 
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