Readers, we need a little help from you

Bipartisan proposal would aid newspapers, and give readers a break, too

Readers, we could not do what we do every day without the support of the Yuma community.

We cherish our relationships here, especially with our subscribers and our advertisers, because those relationships allow us to keep our community informed.

What’s the latest news? What’s going on at city hall? What’s on sale at the grocery store? Answers to all of these questions and more can be found inside the Yuma Sun, our special sections and our sister products.

However, the last few months haven’t been easy ones. Just like other businesses in Yuma, we’ve taken a hit on the revenue side. When people ask me how they can support the paper, I usually have two answers: buy an ad or subscribe – or, preferably, both.

But now there’s a new option on the table, and it’s one that would help us tremendously – while also helping subscribers and advertisers.

There is a bipartisan proposal in Congress that is intended to help newsrooms, including the Yuma Sun’s.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act proposes a series of three tax credits aimed at bolstering local newspapers and media.

The first is a credit for local newspaper subscriptions. This is for subscribers of newspapers like the Yuma Sun. This five-year non-refundable tax credit of up to $250 per year would help cover the costs of subscriptions to local newspapers.

The credit would cover 80% of subscription costs in the first year and 50% of subscription costs in each of the subsequent four years. So if a reader spends $200 on subscriptions in a year, they would be eligible for a $160 credit in the first year and a $100 credit in each of the following four years.

Basically, under this proposal, readers like you could get a tax credit for subscribing to the Yuma Sun, to help defray the cost of the subscription.

The second credit is a payroll credit for compensation of journalists. This fiveyear refundable tax credit would provide qualifying local newspapers a credit to use to help pay our journalists.

The credit would cover 50% of compensation, up to $50,000, in the first year and 30% of compensation, up to $50,000, in each of the subsequent four years.

A newspaper’s biggest costs are paper and payroll – so this credit would be tremendous for small newspapers like the Yuma Sun.

And finally, the third credit is a credit for advertising in local newspapers and local media. This five-year non-refundable tax credit would provide businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees up to $5,000 in the first year and up to $2,500 in each of the subsequent four years to spend on advertising with local newspapers and local media.

The credit would cover 80% of advertising costs in the first year, up to $5,000 and 50% in each of the next four years, up to $2,500 each year.

We have a lot of small businesses in Yuma that could greatly benefit with such a tax credit, and it helps out the Yuma Sun at the same time.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act doesn’t hand out money, but instead would offer tax credits for doing business with us as subscribers and advertisers.

And readers, this is where I will ask for your support. Our mission at the Yuma Sun is local, community journalism. It’s a mission in which we firmly believe, and a cause I feel is worth fighting for. If you agree, please reach out to our federal legislators, and ask them to support the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

• U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, 202-224-2235, or https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/contact/email-martha

• U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, 202-2244521, or https://www.sinema.senate.gov/ contact-kyrsten

• U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, 202-225-2435, or https://grijalva.house.gov/connect-withraul/

• U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, 202-225-2315, or https://gosar.house.gov/contact/

To read more details of the proposal, check out the full page ad in today’s edition of the Sun.

And to our readers and advertisers alike, as always, thank you so much for your support!