Maryland's Ad Tax Is 'Facially Unconstitutional,' Industry Tells 4th Circuit
Maryland's law establishing a digital ad tax is "facially unconstitutional," the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and NetChoice told the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a reply brief Monday (see 2411010020). The groups…
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challenged the law's pass-through provision (docket 24-1727), saying businesses can't communicate with consumers about how the tax may affect their services or operations. "A government cannot evade First Amendment scrutiny by defining what a statute makes unlawful as speech itself," the groups said. The law "attempts to bar businesses from telling the truth about what this tax means for consumer prices," said CCIA Senior Vice President Stephanie Joyce in a statement: "This kind of statutory muzzle has been rejected by the courts as an unconstitutional infringement of speech.”