Shopping center owners will soon have one perceived roadblock behind them. Amazon.com is going to start collecting sales tax in some major states, putting the most successful Internet retailer on the same playing field as any brick and mortar store.

By law, Amazon was only required to collect sales tax from the five states where it has a physical presence, such as its headquarters in Washington state and areas where it has distribution centers. But revenue-hungry states have been putting pressure on the company for years, and with its enormous growth, it's harder for Amazon to avoid putting warehouses in certain locales just to avoid charging customers sales tax.

It will start collecting sales tax on purchases by Texas customers this week, followed by California and Pennsylvania in two months. In a year and a half it will collect sales tax in 13 states.