The Senate’s version of Ohio’s two-year operating budget, introduced mid‑June 2025, would eliminate several longstanding sales-tax exemptions.
Key targets include:
• Printed newspapers are exempt but will soon be taxed at 5.75%.
• Jukebox songs – music played in jukeboxes would be newly taxable.
• Newspaper inserts and related printing materials/machinery – exemptions on flyers, catalogs, and printing production machinery would also be removed.
These changes are intended to generate additional revenue for the state—Senate Republicans estimate they could offset part of a $1.1 billion proposed income-tax cut.
Proponents argue these modifications broaden the tax base and help fund tax relief without raising rates. A Senate spokesperson highlighted the need to “remove certain sales tax exemptions to help pay for a $1.1 billion income tax cut,” calling it a fair way to spread tax responsibilities. Supporters say Ohio can stimulate economic fairness while easing income tax pressure by including items like jukebox plays and newspaper inserts under the sales tax.
In short, lawmakers backing the proposal present it as a measured, fiscally responsible approach that maintains revenue neutrality during broader tax reform.
Critics—principally local publishers and newspaper associations—dispute the benefits. Monica Nieporte, Executive Director of the Ohio News Media Association, voiced deep concern, pointing out three damaging elements: taxing newspapers at 5.75%, taxing auxiliary print products (flyers, catalogs), and taxing printing machinery and equipment. She warned these burdens would “hurt” small newspapers and impede local journalism.
In an editorial, Jeremy Speer, publisher of several Ohio newspapers, underscored the threat. “We print more than 20,000 newspapers, people still want their local paper. These damaging lawmaker actions will challenge these numbers. I can almost guarantee that newspapers in some corners of Ohio will fold within the next few years.”
Speer argues the proposal undermines nearly a century of tax policy that supported community journalism and would tip the balance against struggling local media outlets facing competition from online platforms.
Exemptions for printing machinery date back to 1973, illustrating how embedded they are in the state’s support system for press operations. With many small newspapers already financially strained, an added sales tax could stiffen rising costs and potentially lead to closures, leaving news deserts in rural and mid‑sized Ohio towns.
The Senate and House budgets differ: while Republicans want these exemptions repealed, the House version does not. Both chambers must reconcile the bills at the conference, with a deadline of the end of June.
