Rolling Stone Passes Along Cost of Ad Tax to Its Florida Readers

Florida residents will soon be paying 25 cents more for newsstand copies of Rolling Stone than residents of other states. The move is the magazine’s reaction to a recently imposed 5% state tax on advertising in Florida. Since the tax took effect July 1, a number of advertisers have protested by pulling their ads from the Florida market.

The price increase will help “offset lost revenues” to the magazine from advertisers, said Leslie H. Zeifman, vice president and associate publisher of Rolling Stone. He said that the magazine will reduce its ad rates by 4.5% for national advertisers whose ads do not appear in Florida issues. About 4.5% of Rolling Stone’s circulation is in Florida.

The price hike is scheduled to take effect with the issue dated Sept. 24.