I’ve heard of countless instances when a newspaper will go after a legislature, but it’s fairly rare when the legislature decides to bite back against a newspaper. Consider last week in the Missouri Legislature.
The Missouri House has voted to raise taxes on the state’s two largest newspapers after an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch branded the Republican-led chamber the “House of Hypocrites.”
I’m not an expert in tax law, but are lawmakers supposed to use tax law to retaliate against news outlets? Call me old fashioned, but this sure sounds like an abuse of power.
Frequently, lawmakers at every level will express their displeasure with a news outlet by denying their reporters access and/or interviews. It’s troubling (and petty), but punishing newspapers because they’ve had the gall to criticize public policies is pretty outrageous.
On April 11, the Post-Dispatch devoted an entire editorial page to criticism of the House of Representatives as the “House of Hypocrites.” It included photos of 66 House Republicans who receive state-sponsored health insurance yet voted to approve legislation that would eliminate health coverage for thousands of poor Missourians on Medicaid.
While the House debated a tax-credit bill on April 14, Republican state Rep. Richard Byrd of suburban St. Louis offered an amendment repealing a sales-tax exemption for the state’s two largest newspapers — the Post-Dispatch and The Kansas City Star. It passed 74-72.
House Democratic Leader Rick Johnson, also of suburban St. Louis, accused Byrd of trying to punish the Post-Dispatch.
“What we have here is a retaliatory tax increase … for revenge,” Johnson said.
It’s hard to see this any other way.