FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Annapolis, MD, February 9, 2021—AAF Maryland Leaders: As you may be aware Maryland Senate President Mike Ferguson (D) and House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D) have introduced bills intended to mitigate the local impact of the digital ad tax should the General Assembly override Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of the tax.
The proposed amendments to the digital advertising tax would carve out radio and TV broadcasting and news media entities from the scope of the tax and prohibit taxpayers from passing along the tax to Maryland customers in the form of a “separate fee, surcharge, or line-item.”
Unfortunately, the bills do not solve the administrative, economic or constitutional problems with the digital ad tax. The attached talking points prepared by our partners at McDermott Will & Emery delve deeper into these issues.
The best outcome for this issue would be for the legislature to vote to sustain Governor Hogan’s veto of the digital ad tax. That vote is still expected later this week.
Attachments: Maryland Proposed Digital Ad Tax Amendments, SB 787/HB1200, Customer Pass-Through Prohibition-Legal Concerns and Maryland Proposed Digital Ad Tax Amendments, SB787/HB1200, Summary of Carve-Out Provisions
—Clark Rector