Florida Supreme Court Removes Tax Provision From the State Ballot 

In an unexpected decision, the Florida State Supreme Court has removed Amendment 5 from the state’s November 4th election ballot. The Amendment, if approved by 60% of the voters, would have allowed the state legislature to remove all current state sales tax exemptions, including the tax exemption for advertising time and space.

The AAAA and other advertising and marketing groups, including the state broadcasters and ad clubs, had strongly opposed the amendment and had launched a major media campaign against the proposal.

National advertising groups have been watching the Florida developments closely as Florida was the only state to have ever attempted to tax advertising time and space. The state legislature enacted legislation in 1987, which ended more than 100 sales tax exemptions for state businesses. The law was repealed within six months but discussion of new tax proposals has played a perennial role in budget debates since that time.