Court Issues Final Judgment on Maryland Digital Ad Tax
A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland issued a final judgment Wednesday that bars the state from enforcing portions of its digital ad tax law. The judgment follows a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Aug. 4 that the law’s pass-through provisions violate the First Amendment. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetChoice and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had argued that the pass-through provisions prevented businesses from communicating with customers about the tax law’s effect on prices and were thus unconstitutional. The law imposes a tax of up to 10% of revenue on digital ad services.
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“This final judgment means that companies now can exercise their right to speak freely with clients and customers about the financial impact of this tax,” said Stephanie Joyce, director of CCIA's Litigation Center for the Connected Economy, in a release.