DIRECTV, Inc. v. Levin

{¶ 42} Cable companies and satellite companies sell the same thing: pay-television service. But in Ohio they are not taxed the same. Satellite companies must collect the 5 1/2 percent sales tax; cable companies do not.

{¶ 43} Why the difference? When the tax bill was introduced, it imposed an equal tax regardless of seller. Cable-television lobbyists stepped in and drew the legislature’s attention to certain economic realities: the cable industry directly employs exponentially more Ohioans (6,000) than the satellite industries (a “nominal” number) and pays exponentially more taxes (over $100…