Tucson should firmly reject the proposed advertising tax. While proponents may frame it as a way to raise city revenue, the cost to local businesses, the media ecosystem, and free speech will far outweigh any short-term fiscal gains. Tucson Media Partners is strongly opposed to this tax…and for good reason.
First, an advertising tax threatens local small businesses and the creative community that supports them. Local businesses rely on advertising, from newspapers, radio, digital ads, billboards, and other media, to reach customers effectively. Taxing advertising is essentially taxing their ability to communicate with their customers. As outlined on the petition to block the tax, it would “raise costs for small and mid-sized businesses, limit their ability to reach customers, and reduce the flow of work that supports local creatives, agencies, and media outlets.”
When businesses, especially small and mid-sized ones, face higher costs, many will cut back on advertising, reduce marketing, or even shut down. That, in turn, hurts local media outlets, freelance journalists, designers, photographers, marketing agencies, and others who make a living from producing advertising. For a city like Tucson, which thrives on a dynamic local economy, arts scene, and entrepreneurial spirit, that kind of harm could be long-lasting.
Second, imposing an advertising tax may chill speech; especially media, creative, and journalistic expression – in a way that conflicts with fundamental principles. In other jurisdictions, courts have struck down billboard / advertising taxes on First Amendment grounds; for instance, Supreme Court of Ohio permanently enjoined an ad-tax enacted by Cincinnati, Ohio, ruling that it “violated the billboard operators’ First Amendment rights.”
Though Tucson’s proposed tax may be framed as a revenue measure, not censorship, the legal and constitutional precedent is clear: taxes that single out advertising (and by extension media and speech) are especially vulnerable. The burden on publishers and media entities tends to suppress advertising; including public-service announcements, nonprofit messaging, and community information, which undermines the free flow of information and civic discourse.
Third, the economic rationale behind the tax is questionable. Advertising revenue already supports multiple layers of the local economy: media, creative industries, and the small and mid-sized businesses that advertise. Taxing that revenue threatens to collapse this ecosystem. According to resources from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), ad taxes often backfire as to have been known to kill local jobs, make it harder for small businesses to reach customers, and reduce station revenue that communities rely on.
Moreover, in many cases, advertising taxes have proven difficult to administer and enforce — leading some jurisdictions to abandon such taxes altogether due to their negative impact.
Fourth, the revenue model is regressive in effect. As has been argued against other tax hikes in Tucson (for example, the recent rejected sales-tax increase under Proposition 414) – low and middle-income residents, and small businesses, often bear the brunt of tax increases.
An advertising tax may seem like it targets “businesses,” but those costs are almost always passed down. Small businesses may pay more for marketing, raise the cost of goods or services to compensate, or reduce hiring – ultimately affecting workers and consumers. That is hardly fair, and it undermines economic opportunity in the community.
Finally, there are better alternatives for generating public revenue that do not threaten free speech or community media. Rather than punishing advertising, which is a core engine of commerce, culture, and communication, the city should explore more equitable revenue strategies: broad-based taxes, appropriate user fees, or efficiency savings, rather than selective taxes that disproportionately harm businesses and free expression.
In light of all this, Tucson Media Partners calls on the city council and Mayor to reject the advertising tax. Doing so would protect small businesses, safeguard the vibrant media and creative ecosystem in Tucson, uphold our community’s free-speech values, and prevent a regressive cost burden from falling on those least able to afford it. Tucson deserves solutions that foster growth, not punishing taxes that stifle growth and suppress voices.
AAF Tucson, the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation, also strongly opposes this initiative, warning that an ad tax would raise costs for businesses, reduce advertising activity, and harm the local media and creative industries that depend on it. Their stance reinforces what many in our community already know: this tax would weaken Tucson’s economy and silence the voices that help it thrive. Tucson should listen to its business and creative leaders and reject this harmful proposal.
