Ohioans may soon have to pay a sales tax for newspapers, songs they play on jukeboxes and other items previously excluded.
The Senate version of the two-year budget would remove sales tax exemptions on certain products, which could add up to $312 million over the next two years.
The measure is among a slew of tax breaks Senate Republicans want to eliminate to pay for a $1.1 billion tax cut for people earning over $100,000.
If passed, Ohio would tax refrigerated food vending machines, advertisements for retail items, portable grain bins and rental car reimbursements for drivers with a vehicle in the shop.
“We’re foregoing a lot of revenue here,” Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, told reporters June 11. “Some of it has not been looked at in a very long time. One goes back to 1935 and has just perpetuated since that time. We thought it was a responsible fiscal thing for us to do to stop and take a look at some of these.”
The budget is not final. House and Senate lawmakers are hashing out their differences and must send a final plan to Gov. Mike DeWine before June 30.
But newspaper leaders have sounded the alarm about changes that could directly affect the industry. In addition to newspapers and advertisements, Senate Republicans want to eliminate a tax exemption for printing equipment.
Newspapers have been excluded from Ohio’s sales tax since its inception, according to the Ohio News Media Association. The group contends the Senate plan unfairly targets newspapers and could increase production costs.
“Newspapers play a unique and critical role in supporting your constituents and communities across the state,” the association’s president, Monica Nieporte, wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “Any potential changes to sales tax exemptions and other tax expenditure should not be targeted at specific industries and subject to robust and thoughtful debate.”
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@gannett.com or @haleybemiller on X.
Ohio Senate wants to add sales tax to new items. What do you think?
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate budget would add sales tax for newspapers, jukebox songs and other items
Reporting by Haley BeMiller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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