Is there no activity of limited social utility for which the lawmakers in Albany will not carve out a special tax break while leaving the rest of us ordinary taxpayers stuck with one of the highest state and local tax burdens in the country? That is the question we were left with when we learned of a bill introduced in the senate by Martin Golden of Brooklyn, who is proposing to offer special tax breaks for companies that make television commercials.

Why television commercials and not newspaper advertisements or online banner ads? Beats us. As it also eludes us why the lawmakers wouldn’t just spread the tax breaks out equally to all the taxpayers in the state, whether they make television commercials or something else. As it is, the proposed tax break for television commercial producers comes as Crain’s New York reports that “the New York television advertising marketplace was down 7% in the first quarter. And it won’t be getting better any time soon.”

Crain’s cites an Ernst and Young audit that found advertising spending on broadcast television in New York was down $20 million, to $310 million for the first quarter of 2004. The government subsidy is always the last refuge of the scoundrel who can’t make it in the market. We can understand this, if not endorse it, when the product to be subsidized is some wholesome good with supposed national security value, such as milk or steel. But television commercials? Come on.

Mr. Golden, in his memo supporting the bill, cites competition from other venues. He notes, “the City of Los Angeles recently passed legislation aimed at small and medium sized producers who produce in LA, regardless of where their company is located. The incentive virtually eliminates the City’s business and corporation taxes for these companies.” But in a Los Angeles Times commentary headlined “Corporate Welfare for Hollywood,” Matt Welch noted: “If subsidies and protectionism were the keys to a successful film industry, the Canadians and the French would have overtaken Hollywood years ago.”

Mr. Golden’s bill memo says, “A commercial means an advertisement, but not a news or current affairs program, infomercial, instructional program, trailer or game show, reality show, etc.” That doesn’t appear to rule out political campaign commercials, and no doubt, some of the tax savings would be passed along to customers – that is, to political campaigns – in the form of lower rates. It’s another example of the folks in Albany making things easier for themselves while passing along the costs to regular New Yorkers.