Rent-A-Center, Inc. v. Hegar

OPINION

David Puryear, Justice

This case presents an issue of first impression: whether a “rent-to-own” business whose majority of revenues comes from making merchandise available to customers via “rental-purchase” agreements is “primarily engaged in retail trade” for Texas franchise-tax purposes.1 The Comptroller audited Rent-A-Center, Inc.’s franchise tax return for 2008 and assessed a deficiency of over one million dollars because it determined that Rent-A-Center was not primarily engaged in retail trade and not, therefore, entitled to the one-half-percent tax rate with which Rent-A-Center…