Wednesday May 13, 2009
1 noteWash. newspapers get a tax break, but not us
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has signed a bill (.pdf) giving newspapers in our state a 40% tax break. But our own startup news company in Seattle, Next Door Media, doesn’t appear to qualify, because it’s online-only. (The same goes, presumably, for SeattlePI.com. The formal definition is “business of printing a newspaper, publishing a newspaper, or both.”) So, if your company failed to adapt to well-known industry changes, you’re given a tax break. But if your company is a startup that anticipated these changes and is taking on significant risk to create a new profitable model, you don’t qualify for special consideration. Just a bit unfair and narrow-minded, especially in a state known for technology innovation. Governor Gregoire, how about extending low-interest loans or other incentives to startups that have shown promise in reinventing the model?
Cory Bergman founded Lost Remote in 1999 with the slogan, "The TV Revolution is Coming. Are You Ready?" For years, Cory has urged media companies to lead the way on technology before someone else does it for them.A longtime journalist, Cory is the director of new product development at msnbc.com as well as the co-founder (with his wife Kate) of the hyperlocal news startup Next Door Media in Seattle. He's also on the advisory board for the University of Washington's innovative digital media program. In his personal time, Cory lays awake at night obsessing over new sustainable business models for local news on the web. Email him at cory[at]lostremote.com.
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