Over the last five years I must have posted at least five blogs excoriating Jim Zbick, an editorial writer for the Times News. Now I find we agree on an issue. Zbick recently wrote an editorial critical of Gov. Wolf’s proposal to impose a sales tax on newspapers. Here’s a copy of the letter I sent to the Times News earlier this evening:
Dear Editor,
Any comprehensive tax legislation will have provisions that are opposed by various affected groups, but Governor Wolf’s proposed overhaul has one provision that is actually bad for democracy and its need for an informed citizenry. Gov. Wolf wants to apply a sales tax to newspapers.
Your opinion columnist Jim Zbick rightly pointed out that such a tax violates the First Amendment’s freedom of the press clause. The well-known phrase “the power to tax is the power to destroy” certainly applies to newspapers.
The money that a newspaper tax would raise does not outweigh the harm it would do to print media. Newspapers are already struggling as people pretend to get their news on phones.
Let your representatives know that a sales tax should not apply to print journalism.
Hey, when the man is right, I have to recognize that. On this issue he is correct. Way to go, Jim.
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