Internet, business groups challenge Maryland's digital ad tax
National groups representing the likes of Facebook and Google are challenging Maryland’s first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising in federal court, hoping to block its implementation and ward off attempts in other states to pass similar laws.
They’re seeking an injunction to prevent the new tax, which they call a “punitive assault” on digital advertising, from being collected. They allege the tax will violate federal laws that bar discriminatory taxes on e-commerce and ban states from regulating interstate commerce and actions outside their borders.
“The unlawfulness of Maryland’s statute here is crystal clear,” said Michael Kimberly, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney representing the Internet Association, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association — which represent internet and telecommunications companies — as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The groups filed their complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-ga-ad-tax-challenge-20210218-6upv7dg5jnf23kmr3o6zbtdfze-story.html