The Maryland Supreme Court revived a digital advertising tax on tech companies this week, reversing a lower court ruling last year that found the measure unconstitutional.
In a four-page ruling on Tuesday, Maryland’s highest court said the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court “lacked jurisdiction” when it ruled to overturn the tax last year, and sent the case back to the circuit court to be dismissed. A full rationale will be fleshed out in a later opinion, according to the court’s filing.
The decision means that Maryland may resume its tax on the sale of online ads — a measure passed by the state’s General Assembly in 2021. It levied a tax of between 2.5% and 10% on large companies like Facebook and Google that sell online advertisements. The tax was the first of its kind in the country. The tax would only apply to companies making at least $100 million a year globally from advertisements, and would only pay taxes on the amount of advertising done in Maryland. Proponents of the tax argued it was a necessary step in modernizing the state’s tax code. When it passed, lawmakers expected the tax to bring in roughly $250 million per year, which would be used to fund a massive overhaul of the state’s public education system.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Colleen Grablick over at DCIST
