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  Missouri House Votes to Raise Newspaper Tax after 'House of Hypocrites' Editorial
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Apr 15, 2004 10:08pm
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MediaNews Service - Associated Press
News DateThursday, April 15, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionMissouri House Votes to Raise Newspaper Tax after 'House of Hypocrites' Editorial
The Honolulu Advertiser

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." Democratic lawmakers decried the tax proposal as retaliation. But the Republican sponsor insisted he was simply "closing corporate tax loopholes." St. Louis Post-Dispatch publisher Terry Egger said Thursday he also viewed the action as retaliation for Sunday's editorial. "I think there's no question given the timing and some comments we've received," he said. "To me, in a democracy, there should never be retaliation by the government to criticism," he said. "This is not how the government is supposed to operate."

Legislators in many states over the years have considered taxes on newspaper publishing, but the actions of the Missouri House could be cause for alarm, Paul McMasters, an ombudsman at the Arlington, Va.-based First Amendment Center, said Thursday.

On Sunday, the St. Louis 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.
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