Agencies 'Gear Up' as States' Ad-Tax Threat Looms

No U.S. state is yet considering legislation taxing ad time and space, but the industry has cause to fear that this perennial threat might have some teeth in 2003.

“There is general agreement in the business community that the tax issue at the state level is more dangerous now than at any time in recent history,” said Dan Jaffe, evp of government relations at the Association of National Advertisers.

The ad-tax issue emerges nearly every year with the introduction of bills in at least a handful of states, but they usually fail to pass.