Times to Raise Prices Due to State Tax Hike

The Times announced Tuesday that it would raise its subscription price and the cost of selected single-copy sales, effective Monday, July 15.

The increase is due in part to new sales taxes passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson covering such products as newspapers, magazines, snack food and candy, bottled water and jet and bunker fuel, which have been exempt from sales taxes.

This law, designed to help the state cut its $14.3-billion budget deficit, applies to both home delivery subscriptions and to newspapers purchased from a newsrack, newsstand or store.

Subscription statements mailed to Times subscribers starting July 15 will reflect the new sales tax on home delivery subscriptions. The Orange County subscription price will rise 7.4%, and subscription prices elsewhere will rise 8%, a Times spokeswoman said.

The single-copy price of The Times, which has not changed since 1979, will increase to 35 cents from 25 cents for most daily editions, effective July 15. The single-copy price for the Sunday edition will rise to $1.50 from $1.25, effective July 21. The single-copy price in newsracks will include tax; copies priced elsewhere may have tax added. The single-copy price increase also reflects ongoing operating costs for The Times.

Single-copy prices of The Times in Orange County and the San Fernando Valley will remain unchanged for both the daily and Sunday editions. Orange County and the San Fernando Valley each account for about 15% of The Times’ weekday circulation of 1.2 million.

A spokeswoman for the Daily News in the San Fernando Valley said that newspaper is “exploring the issue” of whether to raise its price. A spokeswoman for the Orange County Register said the newspaper had no comment.