Legislation to help support the news media by exempting them from the state business and occupation tax passed the state Senate Friday.
"Local journalists play an essential role to inform the public, hold politicians and government accountable, and make our communities stronger," said Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah), sponsor of the bill. "That role is particularly important at the local level, where incredibly important decisions are made that CNN or Fox News will never cover. We need to make sure our small local newspapers can stay afloat and keep serving the public, and this bill will help."
Senate Bill 5199, by request of the Attorney General, was prefiled on Jan. 6 and referred to the Senate Committee on Business, Financial Services, Gaming and Trade on Jan. 9. A public hearing was held on Jan. 12 before it passed committee and was passed to Ways and Means. After passing Ways and Means as well as the Rules Committee, it finally passed the Senate floor on March 31, 47-1. Sen. Phil Fortunato (R-Auburn) was the only legislator to vote nay and Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) was excused.
A release by Washington State Senate Democrats stated that newspapers currently pay a lower business and occupation tax rate than most businesses, but that preferential tax rate expires in July of 2024. SB 5199 fully eliminates the business and occupation tax for newspaper publishers and printers and also eliminates the tax for digital and online news outlets if they had a printed publication as recently as Jan. 1, 2008.
"I've seen local newspapers and media in my district struggle over the past decade, and too many have already had to shut down," Mullet said.
Between 2005 and 2020, Washington state newspapers lost 67% of newsroom employees, according to a report from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the release stated.
The bill now goes to the Washington House of Representatives for consideration.
