DeWine must veto tax provision

It might be good for the state government, but it's unquestionably bad for local businesses, for us, the newspaper, and for you, our valued reader. Included in the state budget passed earlier this week was a measure repealing a nearly century-old sales tax exemption on newspapers. Green-lit by the Ohio House and Ohio Senate, it now awaits Gov. Mike DeWine's signature. Not only does the proposed measure target newspaper sales — if approved, Ohio would be the first state to do so — but it additionally threatens to remove the sales tax exemption on forms of print advertising found in newspapers — flyers, inserts, etc. — and a sales tax exemption on machinery and supplies used in print. It's a 1-2-3 combo punch, clobbering a historic state industry already in a challenged fiscal position. "This provision singles out newspapers and threatens access to news and information for many Ohioans," states a letter from the Ohio News Media Association to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine dated Thursday. It definitely is singling out print media, as digital advertising found in other forms of media would remain exempt from the state sales tax. That hardly seems fair. The tax exemptions, according to state tax data, save Ohio businesses and taxpayers an estimated $66 million every fiscal year, all savings that could be lost. "We print more than 20,000 newspapers at our production facility in Findlay each night," the newspaper's publisher, Jeremy Speer, wrote in a recent column. "Our digital readership has never been larger. People still want their local paper, and we are doing everything we can to still print and preserve them." Unless it's subject to a line-item veto from DeWine, the increased cost burden many will bear from these repeals is a negative no matter how you look at it. If you, like us, don't want to see that happen, we highly implore you to contact DeWine's office and urge him to veto the repeal of sales tax exemptions for newspapers. DeWine must make any line-item vetos by a deadline of this coming Monday, June 30, so time is of the essence. Here's how you can contact the governor's office. Note that you're urging DeWine to veto of TAXCD114 (Sales tax exemptions): • Call: 614-644-4357 • Email: giles.allen@governor.ohio.gov