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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday vetoed a proposed tax on newspapers and their production materials, aligning Ohio with a growing number of states taking steps to protect local journalism.
DeWine’s veto, issued alongside his signing of Ohio House Bill 96, preserved existing sales tax exemptions for newspapers, print advertising materials, and printing equipment. This tax exemption has been in place for 90 years.
“Newspapers serve a critical role in our society to inform the public about important issues, allow for civic engagement and discourse, and help bolster local communities,” DeWine wrote in his veto message.
The exemptions spare newspapers and print advertising materials from Ohio’s 5.75% state sales tax. They also cover equipment used in the production of printed materials, such as books and newspapers.
The Ohio legislature had voted to repeal the exemptions as part of the State Operating Budget.
Media advocates had warned that ending the exemptions would disproportionately affect local outlets and their readers, urging DeWine to veto the measure.
“HB 96 would make Ohio an outlier in taxing newspapers and advertising and would place printing operations in Ohio at a competitive disadvantage with neighboring states,” Monica Nieporte, President and Executive Director of the Ohio News Media Association, wrote in a June 26 letter.
In a Sandusky Register column, Jeremy Speer, publisher of five northern Ohio newspapers, warned that removing the sales tax exemption will hurt their thousands of newspaper subscribers.
The Star Beacon in Ashtabula echoed that concern, highlighting the direct impact of the tax change on readers in a recent editorial. The paper noted that the repeal of the sales tax exemption would mean an additional $24.09 in taxes annually for subscribers. For those who buy single copies, the cost would go up by 13 to 20 cents per issue.
Those concerns appear to have resonated with DeWine.
“Revoking the existing sales and use tax exemptions on these forms of media is unnecessary and will reduce civil discourse in our state,” DeWine wrote.
Ohio’s move now comes as part of a growing national effort to sustain local journalism.
While states are legally allowed to tax newspapers under general tax laws, the U.S. Supreme Court has placed limits on doing so in a way that could infringe on press freedom. In the 1936 Grosjean v. American Press Co. decision, the Court found that discriminatory taxation could violate First Amendment protections.
A 2023 report by the Tax Policy Center found no state currently applies a general sales tax to newspaper purchases. However, Delaware, New Mexico, and Washington do impose a gross receipts tax on publishers. In Washington, D.C., newspapers and publications are subject to a 5.75% sales tax rate.
At the same time, several states are launching initiatives to support local journalism.
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Illinois recently approved a Local Journalism Sustainability Tax Incentive Program, offering news organizations up to $15,000 in tax credits per journalist employed over the past year.
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New York offers a 50% refundable tax credit on the first $50,000 of a journalist’s salary, up to a total of $300,000 per business.
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California passed a $500 million relief package to help sustain newsroom jobs and fund community-based journalism efforts, including in ethnic and rural media.
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New Jersey established a publicly funded non-profit in 2018 to invest in local news and civic information projects funded through state appropriations, starting with $5 million.
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Washington passed Senate Bill 5199 in 2023, providing tax relief for newspaper publishers.
These policies reflect a growing recognition of the role local journalism plays in civic life and the importance of closing information gaps in local communities. There are 206 counties in the U.S. without a local news source and 1,561 counties with only one source, according to the Local News Initiative. As access declines, the gap in who gets reliable information grows.
Ohio’s decision may settle the issue for now, but it comes during a broader national conversation about the value of local news and the government’s role in sustaining it.
Is your local or state government taking action to preserve — or put limits on — newsgathering and production in your area? Please let us know at institute@press.org.
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