Billboard Tax Violates Speech Protections, Ohio Court Rules (1)

Cash-strapped Cincinnati can’t shore up its city finances by levying a tax on billboards, a united Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The 7% levy, which the City Council enacted in 2018 to patch up a $2.5 million budget gap, was “selective taxation” in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment free speech protections, the court ruled 7-0.

“A selective tax imposed on activities protected by the First Amendment, unlike a generally applicable tax, is subject to strict scrutiny and may survive only if the government justifies the tax by proving that it furthers a compelling governmental interest and is narrowly ...