Newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington have been granted a tax break by Governor Chris Gregoire, the Seattle Times reported Wednesday. Printers and publishers will receive a 40 percent tax cut from the state's principal business tax.

The new law grants the ailing newspaper industry a tax break similar to that given to Boeing Co. and the timber industry in recent years. The legislative break marks one of the first examples of government-based support for the newspaper industry in the United States.