Nebraska State Senator Tom Briese (R) has introduced legislation to lower the sales tax rate and expand the base to include all services, including advertising. The bill is similar to one the Senator introduced last year. That measure was the subject of a hearing, but never advanced out of committee. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Nebraska Unicameral kicked off the 107th Legislature on January 6, 2021. Read More
Legislative Issues
AAF has scheduled the 2021 Advertising Day on the Hill for Wednesday, May 19. The event will be held in conjunction with the Leadership Immersion Training for Rising Professional Club Presidents and Presidents-Elect on May 18. We are optimistic that the vaccine rollout will allow us to gather in Washington, DC so please mark your calendars and plan to join us for these important events. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
In a recent call hosted by AAF Government Relations and Mike Signorelli of VENABLE, participants learned a great deal of information surrounding privacy policy, application, and process. Read More
Legislative Issues
AAF’s Government Affairs Committee Chair, Carla Michelotti, and Clark Rector invite AAF members to participate in the next AAF Government Affairs Committee Zoom meeting on Wednesday, December 16 at 2:00pm ET (1:00pm CT/12:00pm MT/11:00am PT). Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The election is over, and Nebraskans have made their choice for national, state and local representation. Read More
Legislative Issues
A topic that our Legislative Committee is staying on top of, is that of data privacy. Read More
Legislative Issues
AAF and Privacy for America support an effective national privacy standard that would protect consumers while allowing consumers and businesses to enjoy the many benefits that come with the responsible use of data. Privacy for America has developed comprehensive principles for such a law and is encouraging lawmakers to adopt many them in any future legislation. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The Nebraska Legislature ended their second session on August 14, 2020. During this session they reviewed 483 bills and passed 49 on to Governor Pete Ricketts for approval. Read More
Legislative Issues
The Nebraska Legislature reconvened on July 20th through August 14th to finish hearings suspended in March due to Coronavirus. Read More
Legislative Issues
So much has changed in the world over the last few months as issues like privacy, taxes and equality top the headlines. Read More
Legislative Issues
As anticipated, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) vetoed the digital ad tax passed by the General Assembly. The Assembly is expected to try to override the veto when it returns. Normally, the body would have reconvened in late May but did not because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next session has not been scheduled and could be delayed until the Fall or next year pending the state of the health crisis. AAF Baltimore, AAF DC and the Maryland/Delaware/District of Columbia Press Association released a joint statement praising the Governor’s action. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The Institute of Advertising Ethics will be convening its Inaugural Symposium virtually on June 8, 2020. Read More
Legislative Issues
On April 24, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued an Executive Order that among other things, rescinded the advertising ban included in a previous order. The previous Executive Order addressing the COVID-19 crisis in her state sparked a well-covered protest because of the stay-at-home provisions included in the order. The order also included language that impacted advertising. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
We are in unprecedented times and business has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Legislative Committee hopes you are all well and safe. Read More
Legislative Issues
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently released an Executive Order addressing the COVID-19 crisis that has a number of negative implications for the advertising industry. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak the Breakfast and Tax Solutions event was held as a webinar. Read More
Legislative Issues
As expected, the Nebraska ad tax bills reported on in the last issue did not advance out of committee. Members of both AAF Omaha and AAF Lincoln wrote and called lawmakers in opposition. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Thank you to everyone who reached out to Senator Lou Ann Linehan regarding LB989, proposed legislation to tax digital advertising in Nebraska. Read More
Legislative Issues
Two ad tax bills have been introduced in the Nebraska legislature. LB 946 would extend the state sales and use tax to all services unless specifically exempted. No exemption for advertising is mentioned in the bill’s language. LB 989 would impose the sales and use tax to digital advertising. Because Nebraska has a very short legislative session this year, and the governor has pledged not to raise taxes, these bills are not expected to be enacted. However, many observers in the state believe that they could lay the groundwork for more serious consideration next year. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The AAF protects and promotes advertising at all levels of government through grassroots activities. Our nation-wide network monitors advertising-related legislation on local, state and federal levels. We put our members face-to-face with influential lawmakers while encouraging self-regulation as a preemptor to government intervention, when appropriate of course. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
AAF continues to work with the Privacy for America Coalition to develop a proposed national privacy standard that will both protect consumers and allow businesses to responsibly use data to continue to provide those consumers with the services and content they want and expect. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Federal “Do Not Track” Bill Introduced
Multiple federal privacy bills have been introduced, including a recent one by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would establish a Do Not Track registry for online data collection similar to the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call list which allows people to say they do not want to receive telemarketing calls. The bill would allow consumers to opt out of companies collecting data beyond what is “necessary” for the services to run. Read More
“It’s crucial for us as advertising industry leaders to help policymakers understand the role we play in our communities and economy; the free press, crucial to democracy; innumberable internet apps and services from the Alphabet to the Weather Channel. All of these and more are ad supported. We need to help our elected leaders understand our industry and it’s implications when they make policy that effects what we do.”
Ryan Horn, President Bullhorn Communications
AAF Omaha Legislative Issues Committee Member
Read More
The California Consumer Privacy Act is due to go into effect on January 1, 2020, and regulators and legislators in the state continue their efforts to make sure the state is prepared. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Elections Bring Major Changes
A big transformation in power is coming to Capitol Hill in 2019, as the Democratic Party won control of the U.S. House of Representatives 234 seats to 201 ending complete Republican control of both Houses of Congress and the Presidency. The Republicans slightly increased their Senate majority from 51-49 to 53-47. Read More
The AAF protects and promotes advertising at all levels of government through grassroots activities. Our nation-wide network monitors advertising-related legislation on local, state and federal levels. We put our members face-to-face with influential lawmakers while encouraging self-regulation as a preemptor to government intervention, when appropriate of course. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has launched an industry-wide initiative to increase transparency and accountability around digital political ads, including new guidance for political advertisers and a “PoliticalAd” icon that will link to additional information on such ads. AAF is one of the supporting associations of the DAA. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
AAF Omaha and AAF Lincoln team up each year to host a Legislative Meet & Greet with Nebraska State Senators in the capitol of Lincoln to speak with state representatives about issues important to the advertising community. This year’s event was held on February 7th and featured a brief presentation from Ryan Horn, AAF Omaha Legislative Team Member, about the role advertising plays in cultivating a creative Nebraska, and Andy Roback the CEO of Flood Communications who talked about the role his television and radio stations play across the state of Nebraska in supporting young people in rural communities with interests in broadcasting and advertising. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
We’ve set a date and reserved a room for our annual Meet and Greet event. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The U.S. Congress keeps moving ahead on comprehensive tax reform. The House has passed their version of reform and the Senate is currently debating their version with amendments being offered and voted on. Neither bill includes any limitations on the full current year deduction for advertising expenses as a normal and necessary business expense. This is very good news for consumers and the advertising industry. However, it is still possible that the advertising deduction issue could be raised before tax reform is finished. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The advertising industry must stay vigilant. I urge all AAF members to contact their Senators and urge them to oppose any effort to limit the full deduction for advertising expenses. If your Senator or Representative signed either the Boozman-Baldwin or Engel-Yoder letters I encourage you to contact their offices and thank them for supporting the advertising industry. These elected officials took a stand on our industry’s behalf and their support should be acknowledged. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Mark your calendars! We’ve set a date and reserved a room for our annual Meet and Greet event. It will be held on Wednesday, February 7 at Billy’s Tavern from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. More details to come! Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, plans to release comprehensive tax reform legislation on Wednesday, November 1. According to the previously released United Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code, the corporate tax rate will be lowered to 20% and many special exclusions and deductions will be repealed or restricted. The Chairman has not said which deductions would be limited, or more specifically, whether the advertising deduction will be targeted. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Time is getting short. The time for you to act is now! Congressional tax writers are discussing the specifics of the tax reform bill “ including a possible tax on advertising” this week. If your Representative is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, or one of your Senators is on the Finance Committee, I implore you to contact them now and urge them to oppose any effort to change the tax status of advertising. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
As you may or may not already be aware, there is an effort underway by Congressional Leadership to enact tax reform. Removing the tax deductibility of advertising expenses is one of the measures currently being considered. Read More
AAF National NewsAAFO NewsLegislative Issues
Clark Rector, Jr., Executive Vice President of Government Affairs for AAF, noted in his Government Report dated September 27 that the Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code presents a threat to the advertising industry. The plan itself would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20%. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
Senior Congressional and Administration officials have released their Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code. The so-called “Big 6″(Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch) have been negotiating the details of the plan for weeks. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
While the 2017 Nebraska Legislature is in recess, there is still activity going on nationally and work our committee is doing locally. In this update, I’ll share our goals as a committee and a few exciting events that you are encouraged to participate in this year. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
According to prior reports, Senate talks on tax reform have been centered on a framework similar to the plan introduced in 2014 by former Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich. That plan called for lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent while eliminating many tax preferences and deductions, including limiting the federal deduction for advertising expenses to 50% in the current year with the remaining 50% amortized over ten years. A similar plan was introduced at the same time in the Senate by then Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., although the amortization schedule in the Senate plan was for five years. There has been no indication that the advertising deduction is currently under consideration. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
Advertising is a powerful engine that helps drive the economy of Nebraska. Advertising expenditures account for $33.1 billion of economic output or sales in Nebraska – that is 15.2% of the $218.5 billion in total economic output in the state. Sales of products and services that are driven by advertising help support 111,999 jobs, representing 10.7% of the 1.1 million jobs in Nebraska. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions at the state and local level. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions at the state and local level. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
The House Ways and Means Committee held the first 2017 hearing on tax reform on May 18. The focus of the hearing was on how tax reform would grow the economy and create jobs. The hearing was a first step in what is expected to be, at best, a very long process. Read More
AAF National NewsLegislative Issues
The Legislative Issues Committee continues to follow developments that could impact advertising and communication decisions locally. Read More
AAFO NewsLegislative Issues
