Business Notes STATE REVENUES

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Looking for a relatively painless way to raise funds, Florida Governor Bob Martinez decided to play some creative games with the state's 5% sales tax. Over the voluble protests of many businessmen and lobbyists, he and the Florida legislature expanded the reach of the levy to include many services. Among them: advertising, warehousing and numerous legal, accounting and real estate fees. Last week some fiscal results were in on Martinez's gambit, and they were not good. NBC television announced it was canceling its May 1988 affiliates' convention, scheduled to take place at Orlando's Walt Disney World, in protest over the measure.

The peacock is standing up Mickey Mouse because the expanded tax would include a levy on all network and affiliate advertising carried in Florida. If 7% of a commercial's viewers are in Florida, for example, then the advertiser would be required to pay the state a 5% tax on 7% of the network's fee for running the ad. The network's affiliates in Florida would have to collect the tax for any local advertising.

That prospect could lead to more boycotting of Florida's convention spots. A meeting of the American Advertising Federation will go on next month at Disney World because it is too late to reschedule. But the AAF said it would turn the meeting into a protest rally to urge repeal of the tax.