Maryland Passes First Digital Advertising Tax

Earlier this year, Maryland has passed a new law imposing taxes on annual gross revenues derived by large firms like Google and Facebook from digital advertising services in the state with a threshold of $100 million in global annual gross revenue.

Digital advertising services are defined as any advertising services delivered on any type of software, website, or application that a person can access on a device. The bill does provide insight into a few types of advertising services that are specifically covered, including banner advertising, search engine advertising, and interstitial advertising. However, it also includes a vague catch-all: “and other comparable advertising services.”