Re: Maine broadcasters get tax break

[Dave Faneuf <tklaundry@juno.com>]

> --- Dib9@aol.com wrote:
> > The Maine Legislature today overrid the Governor's
> > veto of a bill that will 
> > allow exemptions from the 5 percent sales tax on
> > equipment purchased by Maine 
> > broadcasters to produce radio and television
> > signals. 
>
> > The argument for the exemption is that purchases of
> > manufacturing equipment, 
> > including newspaper printing presses, are exempt
> > from the state sales tax and 
> > that television stations are under a mandate to
> > convert to HDTV.  On the 
> > other hand, most of the businesses that will benefit
> > from this tax break are 
> > large, public corporations headquartered out of
> > state.  The money saved from 
> > the tax break will go from Maine state coffers to
> > the corporate executives 
> > and shareholders.
>
> > -- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine

How are they licensed?  I would think that if they are a non-profit
educational foundation much like WGBH then that would have been a better
argument to make than just saving taxpayers a few cents on the dollar.
df