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# Reject DTC Tax Exemption Idea: WLF
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/reject-dtc-tax-exemption-idea-wlf/
- Published: 2018-01-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T23:11:06.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5140418

A Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) *Legal Pulse* online [post](https://wlflegalpulse.com/2018/01/04/same-old-drug-advertising-ban-proposal-would-fail-for-the-same-old-reasons/?ref=fdaweb.com#more-17868) says a proposal to eliminate the tax exemption for direct-to-consumer drug advertising “is misguided, likely unconstitutional, counter-productive, and would result in worse healthcare outcomes for millions of Americans.” The suggestion to end the tax exemption was included in a National Academies of Science committee report to the Senate HELP Committee as one of several proposed policies to lower healthcare prices.

“Ending the DTC tax exemption is not about sound tax policy,” the post says, “it’s about limiting drug companies’ speech rights. Any change to the DTC advertising exemption represents a backdoor ban. Such selective withholding on the advertising tax deduction is a content-based restriction on drug companies’ speech, a clear violation of the First Amendment.”

WLF also says the proposal ignores fundamental economic principles. “DTC advertising increases the amount of information drug consumers have access to,” the article says. “Having more information, consumers can better compare the various options they have, including finding the cheapest product, increasing competition between drug companies. While patients still need to go through their prescribing doctors to access those treatments, DTC advertising can initiate conversations that lead to consumers finding the best, and cheapest, option. The increased competition inevitably leads to cheaper drug prices and better outcomes for patients. Instead of raising costs, DTC advertising increases competition between drug companies and therefore actually decreases the cost of drugs for consumers.”

The final objection the post raises is that the proposal would cause serious harm to patients by reducing the amount of information they have about possible treatments. It says that while increased demand for drugs will undoubtedly raise their costs, “such minor increases cannot outweigh the lives saved and extended because sick patients get the care they need.”