Health Care Bill Won't End Tax Deductions For Prescription Drug Ads

Broadcasters, cable operators and the ad community were breathing a little easier Monday when the health care bill was introduced without a proposal to end the tax deduction for prescription drug ads, though the battle may not be over. The major networks, ad associations, and others including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, joined in a full-court press in the past few weeks against the provision, sending Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) in particular, and his colleagues, a number of letters detailing the impact on their business of eliminating the deduction on the multi-billion ad category. The plan had been to eliminate the deduction to help foot the bill for broader healthcare reform. The industry countered that doing so by removing the deduction on what they said was a legitimate business expense, and a short-term revenue raiser, is a long-term adverse precedent for equal treatment and an economic hit at a time when the ad dollars in TV are already getting fewer and farther between.