FIRST OFF . . .

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a movie tax case and let stand a ruling that bars the city of Montclair, Calif., from taxing movie theater tickets. Montclair was seeking a review of state court rulings that found the tax a violation of the First Amendment. At issue was an October, 1986, ordinance that imposed a 6% tax on the price of an admission ticket to theatrical performances and movie houses. Charitable events were exempt. Movie theaters, however, challenged the ordinance as a burden on their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech. The trial court ruled in favor of the city, but the appeals court overturned that decision. The appeals panel based its decision on a 1983 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Minnesota tax on the cost of ink and paper to produce a newspaper. The court found the tax violated the Constitution by singling out the press for a special tax. Seeking high court review, the city argued that a “tax on a business which enjoys First Amendment privileges need not be imposed on all businesses in the city to be valid under the First Amendment.”