Feedom of the Press

[JCline0429]

I thought that newspapers were exempt from taxes under Freedom of the Press clauses in the US Constitution. Either I am wrong or law suits may follow. The Asheboro Courier Tribune has the following article:
Also, how will the State collect sales taxes through vending machines. Last I checked, vending machiness don't take pennies.

Newspapers, other services taxed Jan. 1 googletag.display('ad160x600_above'); By JD Walkerjdwalker@courier-tribune.com ASHEBORO — The amount of money people spend in North Carolina for newspapers is going up and it has nothing to do with soaring paper prices or increased distribution costs. Like many services, newspapers have lost a long-standing sales tax exemption, effective Jan. 1. In Randolph County, that means new subscriptions will come with a 7 percent sales tax charge. This is part of a list of changes enacted by Republicans in the General Assembly in 2013 that will also impact the sale of tickets to live performances, motion pictures, museums, cultural sites, public/private gardens that charge an admission and guided tours at any of these attractions for which a fee is charged. The plan from Republican leaders is to cut personal and corporate income taxes over several years and replace that revenue with more taxes on the service sector of the economy. For newspapers, the change impacts “the use, storage, or consumption in this state of newspapers by newspaper street vendors, by newspaper carriers making door-to-door deliveries, and by means of vending machines,” according to information provided by the state Department of Revenue. Oddly, the mandate to charge sales taxes on newspapers does not extend fully to papers sold through vending machines. Those single copies will be taxed at 50 percent of the sales price.