• by Ray Schultz , February 13, 2025

New Mexico is the latest state to consider giving a tax credit to news organizations that employ journalists. 

Publishers may claim a credit equal to 30% of wages paid to each journalist, with a cap of $4 million per year, according to the bill introduced by Senator Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe).  

The bill defines Journalists as persons “paid by a local news organization to regularly gather, prepare, collect, photograph, record, direct the recording of, produce, write, edit, report or publish news or information that concerns state or local events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the state or a local community through reporting activities, including conducting interviews, observing current events or analyzing documents.”

The tax credit idea is also being considered in other states. 

New York State has led the way — last April, it passed a budget that included the Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs program, believed to be the nation’s first. 

The measure is designed to “strengthen local news coverage by creating a $30 million tax credit to hire and retain journalists for qualifying, independently owned print media or broadcasting entities, particularly those that have experienced workforce or circulation decline in the last five years,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D), co-sponsor of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

A proposed Illinois law, Senate Bill 3953 would provide a tax credit of up to $25,000 for each reporter on the payroll, and up to $30,000 for new journalistic hires.

And a California bill, SB 1327, would take the statewide sales and use a tax rate of 7.25% and apply it to total advertising revenue above $2.5 billion. 

The money would go toward funding tax credits for local news organizations, both print and broadcast, that employ full-time journalists. The total would be $500,000 per year.  

Publishers could claim a tax credit of 25% for wages paid to full-time reporters, more if they provide offer health and retirement benefits, and more if they employ ethnic staffs.