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* Since so many newspaper editorial boards are screaming for reform, should Illinois fund any enacted reforms (consolidated purchasing czar, publicly funded court elections, ramped-up Board of Elections and state’s attorney powers, etc.) by removing the state sales tax exemption on newsprint and ink?
Snark heavily encouraged.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 10:55 am
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Why bother? It’s not like the state is going to earn any more income, the way the newspaper industry is tanking at this rate.
Comment by Statehouse intern Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:00 am
In all seriousness, what was the genesis of that and the graphic art exemption.?
Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:02 am
How about yes, but they get a write-off for the amount they spend by having someone in Springfield covering government.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:06 am
It’s an exemption that needed to be repealed a long time ago. But it would be wrong to base the repeal on what newspapers write or don’t write; that’s too close to retaliation and censorship.
Comment by the Other Anonymous Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:11 am
Say, Say, Say - McCartney/Jackson, enhanced by VanillaMan
We say, say, say what we want,
But don’t tax us over our objections.
We write, write, write about our needs,
But don’t leave me without tax protection.
All alone, I sit home by the phone,
Waiting for you, to respond to me.
Through the years,
How can you stand to hear,
My pleading for reforms dear?
You know Im crying ooh ooh ooh ooh.
We chase, chase, chase you when we want,
But you won’t let me quote you, ever.
You, you, you, lie and delay,
Illinois politicians, you can’t hide forever.
What can we do
To get through to you?
I need ethical government, baby.
Standing here, baptisted in all our tears,
State leaders through the years,
You know we’re crying, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
You never worry,
And you never shed a tear.
You saying that our concerns ain’t real,
Just look into our faces,
These tears ain’t drying
You, you, you can never admit,
That wholesale corruption is all around you.
I pray, pray, pray every day
That you’ll see things, like voters do.
What can we do, we can’t give more to you, cause our taxes are too high, baby.
Standing here, with empty pockets and our tears, staring into our beers,
You know we’re crying, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:14 am
How about hit them even harder and go after the publication requirements for public notices?
Comment by Vote Quimby! Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:16 am
Yes, but only if all of the campaign ads and reporting exist on the AP or AP approved publications. All others should be barred from use of such content.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:23 am
No, you have to forgive a lot of these folks. They’re so busy sending out resumes, talking to financial advisors about their failed ESOPs and contemplating the abyss of unemployment that they don’t know if they’re coming or going. Like a lot of us.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:27 am
Only if they use said ink to “lift” stories off of Blogs. But that shouldn’t net them any gain because that NEVER happens.
Comment by How Ironic Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:31 am
Statehouse Intern had it right, why bother? It is kind of like taxing buggy whips.
I always thought the best approach is to require the media to adopt the same rules they want to apply to government. How about some transparency on conflicts of interests and compensation plans? Or a law that they can’t write about companies who advertise with them?
Comment by Objective Dem Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:42 am
Black ink? Or red ink?
Comment by Dooley Dudright Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 11:57 am
Who cares? Nobody reads those things anymore anyway.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 12:50 pm
Along the same vein, here is a letter I wrote to my local paper a couple of years ago.
“I awoke yesterday, opened the newspaper, and was immediately transformed into a mood of giddiness. The paper had endorsed the governor’s plan for $30 billion of capital expenditures. What benefits this will provide for us poor people and our brethren across the state! Surely this editorial will convince those recalcitrant Republicans of the need for their support.
I remained in such a good mood that I decided to take a stroll through the woods that weekend. As I was gazing at the trees, I suddenly noticed something that struck me with terror. The trees were bare. No 1s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, or 100s. Money does not grow on trees!
As the ever-dutiful citizen, I decided to put aside my morose feelings and construct a method for paying for all these worthwhile projects. I believe we should institute a tax on all print media advertising. The percentage will be whatever will approximate the requisite $30 billion. As corollaries, we will cap the amount to be charged for advertising at current rates, so that the burden will not fall to the already stretched business owners of Illinois. We will also cap subscription rates, so the ordinary citizens will also not be overburdened. In case the economy fluctuates and advertising sales go down, we will also implement a 60% income tax on all newspaper publishers in the state.
Since the newspapers wisely see the benefits of all these extraordinary projects, I’m sure they will not hesitate in providing the revenue that we desperately need in order to improve the lives of all of us in Illinois.”
Comment by Balance Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 12:53 pm
What is this thing called a newspaper of which you speak?
Comment by just sayin Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 1:32 pm
Mandate free ad space for candidates to reduce the cost of elections. Doing the same for TV and radio would accomplish more than most of the proposed reforms.
Comment by Will Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 2:21 pm
Quimby is right.
The newspaper lobby that have supported legislation requiring local governments to spend big money on public notices that few read is truly antiquated. Local government could more affordably .pdf this information on its websites. This tree-flesh subsidy should cease.
Comment by Jake from Mell-y-wood Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 3:22 pm
Is AA mistaken or did one of the “reform” bills wipe out the antiquated “Official State Newspaper” requirement for publishing various State procurements, RFPs, etc? There’s a law that outlived its usefulness years ago.
From what I see, the ink-by-the-barrel crowd are doing real well right now off of other people’s misery by publishing all the foreclosure and Sheriff’s Sale of real property notices, which aren’t cheap. What public policy goal is achieved by providing a tax exemption for the materials consumed in prnting those, let alone all the crap that falls out of my Sunday paper?
Can the exemptions and replace with an offset for costs of Staehouse bureaus. Good idea there.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 4:28 pm