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How do you separate advertisement companies and, say, entertainment companies that happen to just do product placement? I'm in favor of taxing ads, but it'd ne
by r00fus 4y ago
How do you separate advertisement companies and, say, entertainment companies that happen to just do product placement?
I'm in favor of taxing ads, but it'd need to be comprehensive definition unless you want some unintended consequences.
- vlovich123 4y agoProduct placement is advertising. You only need to tax the transaction for the advertisement not “advertising companies”. It does get more complicated about how you define that it’s an advertisement vs not. And there’s lots of “paid placement” stories even in “respectable” newspapers that masquerade as news but would be hard to pierce the veil on as advertisement instead of just “free speech”
- sterlind 4y agoyou don't have to pierce the veil. the newspaper is still free to publish whatever content it wants, including ads. it just has to pay a tax if it wants to accept money for it. I would word the law very generally: an X% sales tax on any transaction made in exchange for publishing, or increasing the visibility of, content supplied by the payer. this covers Facebook promoted posts, fake editorial articles, search ads, even NPR ad spots and YouTuber sponsors. it wouldn't affect product reviewers taking bribes from companies, unless the companies actually supplied review drafts. sadly, this probably falls afoul of Citizens United, which was about the legality of ad money.