The state of Texas and multimillion dollar e-tailer Amazon.com have reached a deal to start collecting taxes on Amazon purchases in the Lone Star state. After hard negotiating on both sides which included Amazon shutting down a distribution center in Texas last year, a deal has finally been reached between the parties.
Texas Taxin' Amazon
Texas Plays Role in HBO Series on Child Obesity
Texas plays a feature role in the new HBO documentary, "The Weight of the Nation," focusing on America's increasing rates of obesity—unsurprising, given that two Texas metro areas scored embarrassingly high rankings in a recent study of the most obese cities.
The State Budget Shortfall: What's $15 to $27 Billion Between Friends? [Politics]
The 82nd Legislative Session opened at the Texas Capitol today, and it looks like legislators will have a lot less money to work with this year. Comptroller Susan Combs released her Biennial Revenue Estimate yesterday for 2012-2013 and with expected general revenue of $72.2 billion available, news outlets and think tanks alike are competing to estimate the size of the budget shortfall.
Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend
According to Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, the Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday is a new annual tax holiday running May 24-26 in order to give Texans an incentive to replace their older appliances with energy efficient models. The idea is a one-two punch which would ideally save shoppers the up-front sales tax as well as money on future energy bills. (Energy Star appliances use 10-50% less energy and water than other models.)

