Lawmakers in New York want to help save local news. And they think it can be done through tax credits for businesses and individuals.
It’s called the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.
Under the proposal a local news organization that employs a local journalist full-time would get a quarterly tax credit up to 50% of the cost of their first year’s salary, as well as 30% in the following four.
The tax credit would be effective for the first five years. It’s unclear what would happen afterward.
Subscribers of local publications – traditional and digital – could receive a tax credit for 80% of their subscription cost in the first year, and 50% in the subsequent ones.
“News and information from local sources about our communities and community institutions help us to trust and understand our world and our place in the world,” said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner. “It is a terrible irony that as the ability to communicate information increases, our ability to know and trust the sources of communication has precipitously decreased. Whether small towns or big cities, New Yorkers need local journalism to reliably monitor and report on uniquely local concerns from school board policy and the actions of municipal boards to the volunteer organizations and activities that enrich our lives.”
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