On October 17th, a Maryland circuit court judge struck down the state’s tax on digital advertising services. The ruling held that the tax violated the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, as well as the First Amendment. The Alliance applauds the court’s decision and maintains the stance that taxes on advertising are bad public policy, and harmful to the economy. The Alliance successfully fought for the exemption of newspapers and magazines under the legislation upon its original passage in 2020. The Alliance acknowledges the importance of advertising revenue for publishers as a means to providing quality news to their communities and will continue to oppose legislation that negatively impacts that ability.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
