Maryland's Controversial Tax on Digital Advertising Explained
Maryland’s attempt to stop businesses from telling customers about a controversial tax has hit a constitutional wall. On August 15, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the state’s “pass-through”...more
Washington’s sales tax on advertising services takes effect October 1, 2025, and comes in two forms: a tax on digital automated services and a tax on retail sales of advertising services. Both impositions apply to digital...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
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
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
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
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
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 enacted a state tax on digital advertising gross revenues on February 12, after overriding the governor’s veto. The passed law, which is the first of its kind in the United States, imposes “a tax on certain annual...more
Overriding the governor’s veto of H.B. 732 (2020), the Maryland Senate on February 12, 2021 passed the nation’s first state tax on the digital advertising revenues pulled in by large companies. This development follows...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. ...more
Only a handful of states have sought to tax digital advertising, and the path forward is murky at best due to practical considerations, federal preemption and constitutional questions. However, there are at least 4 bills...more
On the morning of Friday, February 26, 2021, the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee added a new item to its agenda for the hearing later that morning. The new item was proposed amendments to Senate Bill 787, a bill...more
The Maryland state legislature voted on February 12 to override Governor Larry Hogan’s veto and thus enacted the Digital Advertising Act, the first tax of its kind in the United States. Other states such as Indiana, New York,...more
On February 12, 2021, overriding the Governor’s veto, Maryland enacted a first-of-its-kind tax “Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax” that has already sent shockwaves through the industry....more
Yesterday, McDermott Will & Emery filed suit in Maryland federal court on behalf of a number of leading trade associations against Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, challenging the state’s recently enacted 10% gross...more
Maryland has enacted a tax on revenues derived from digital advertising services, effective this year. Our State & Local Tax Team breaks down how the tax will be applied but questions whether it can survive legal challenges....more
General Assembly Veto Override - On February 12, 2021, the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of HB 732 (2020) (the Act), a bill enacting a first-of-its-kind digital advertising services tax on...more