Maryland's Controversial Tax on Digital Advertising Explained
On July 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a First Amendment challenge to Maryland’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (the “Tax”) holding that while a provision in the Tax scheme...more
Discover the latest global developments and planning opportunities to stay ahead of the curve at McDermott’s Tax Symposium 2024. Join us in Chicago for a full day of programming designed to equip corporate tax leaders with...more
The Digital Advertising Services Tax Law passed the California Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection with a 6-3 vote on April 23 and is now pending before the California Assembly Committee on Revenue and...more
Senator Steven Glazer, chair of the California State Senate Revenue and Tax Committee, is treating data like the next gold rush and taking bold steps to mine this new vein of wealth with his proposed “Digital Data Extraction...more
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s ambitious plan to provide $2 billion in property tax relief via an increase in the sales tax rate and an expansion of the sales tax base is stirring significant debate. Part of his proposal is...more
Winter is coming, and so are denials of taxpayer refund claims for return of the illegally extracted Maryland digital ad tax (DAT). Sources in Annapolis report the Maryland Comptroller is preparing denial notices imminently....more
On May 9, 2023, the Maryland Supreme Court issued an order that revived the state’s digital advertising tax, which was previously found to be unconstitutional by a Maryland circuit court. The Supreme Court’s decision did not...more
State and local taxes impact almost every taxpayer, and developments in any one jurisdiction can be frequent and sometimes confusing. In this newsletter edition, we will briefly summarize certain state and local tax (SALT)...more
Last fall, when a Maryland County Circuit Court held that the Maryland Digital Ad Tax violated the dormant commerce clause, the supremacy clause, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,...more
The saga continues over Maryland’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (Digital Ad Tax), much to the chagrin of Peter Franchot, Comptroller of Maryland, who is tasked with administering and enforcing the tax and has...more
A Maryland state court invalidated the state’s first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising (Maryland Digital Advertising Tax) earlier this week. Enacted in February 2021, the Maryland Digital Advertising Tax was...more
Maryland’s controversial Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (the “Digital Ad Tax”) recently shot back to the top of the headlines when Maryland Circuit Court Judge, Alison Asti, ruled from the bench that the tax is...more
A Maryland state court struck down the state’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (“Digital Ad Tax”) as invalid under both the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (“ITFA”) and U.S. Constitution....more
In a brief filed on April 29, 2022, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office (Attorney General) agreed that the “pass-through prohibition” of the state’s digital advertising tax “does not purport to impose any restriction on...more
On December 3, 2021, the Maryland Comptroller published notice of its adoption of the digital advertising gross revenues tax regulations (which was originally proposed on October 8, 2021). Per the Maryland Administrative...more
Maryland and Ohio courts disagree on whether taxing billboards violates the 1st amendment. Will the Supreme Court weigh in? How will this affect the surge of interest in targeted taxes on digital advertising? Matt Hunsaker...more
Part 1 of this series discussed the proposals adopted by various countries to impose taxes on the digital economy, particularly by taxing various types of digital advertising and other digital services. These taxes allow...more
Matt Hunsaker breaks down the latest state tax news including a discussion of tax arguments in a controversial civil war era statue removal case, the Texas Supreme Court's decision to hear Sirius XM's apportionment case, and...more
Massachusetts has proposed a digital advertising tax. Matt Hunsaker breaks down the new proposal (and an old proposal to conduct a study before enacting a tax) and compares and contrasts it with Maryland's infamous digital...more
State and local taxes impact almost every taxpayer, and developments in any one jurisdiction can be frequent and sometimes confusing. In this newsletter edition, we will briefly summarize certain SALT developments in several...more
In case you missed it, Maryland became the first state back in February to pass a digital advertising services tax into law (and over the governor’s veto no less). The law, titled Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, is...more
Shortly after Maryland passed the country’s first “Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax”, H.B. 732, the Maryland Senate went to work attempting to fix a few known glitches in the law. Senate Bill 787, which passed the...more
Last week, we reported on Maryland’s new gross receipts tax on revenues derived from digital advertising services (the “Tax”), the first of its kind in the nation. Affected taxpayers and tax practitioners alike can breathe a...more
On February 15, 2021, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued a decision in Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. Director, Department of Finance of Baltimore City, Case No. 24-C-18-001778 (Md. 2021), upholding the constitutionality of...more
Maryland recently enacted the nation’s first tax on digital advertising. The new tax, the Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (the “Tax”), became law on February 12, 2021. The Tax has been surrounded by controversy from...more