BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Backers of a ballot initiative to put a lid on Cincinnati's ticket tax have put together a $108,000 television ad campaign that will begin airing today.
The 3 percent tax is levied on a range of for-profit events in the city.
A sports and entertainment coalition, including the Bengals, mobilized this summer when it appeared city council was looking to raise the tax to honor a vow to repair Cincinnati schools.
After gathering the 8,000-plus signatures necessary to put Issue 12 on the ballot, the cap-the-ticket-tax group also has had some success in fund raising. Campaign finance reports show that it had received nearly $108,000 as of Oct. 14.
The 30-second ad features a narrator who tells voters that any increase in the tax will have an impact on family outings.
"Did you know we pay a 3 percent tax every time our family goes to the movies?" it asks.
The spot also says voters should have a say over tax questions. The narrator says: "A loophole allows city council to raise the ticket tax as high as they want without giving us a say. That's right; we don't even get to vote on it."
Issue 12 is a charter amendment that calls for capping the tax at 3 percent. The only way to reverse that decision would be to go back to the voters through another ballot initiative.
Opponents of the measure, including the Metropolitan Area Council of Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, say Issue 12 is micromanagement of government.
Radio ads in support of Issue 12 also will begin this week.
