Coalition of Trade Associations Sue Over Maryland Digital Ad Tax

In a Tuesday post to the Free State Foundation's Blog, I reported that both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly had voted, by substantial margins, to override Governor Larry Hogan's veto of a gross revenues tax on digital advertising services. As anticipated, yesterday a group of trade associations sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Northern Division) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.

Filed by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Internet Association, NetChoice, and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the complaint alleges that H.B. 732 "is a punitive assault on digital, but not print, advertising" and "is illegal in myriad ways."

Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that H.B. 732 (1) "is preempted by the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA), which prohibits States from imposing 'multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce,'" and (2) "violates the Due Process Clause and Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution by burdening and penalizing purely out-of-state conduct and interfering with foreign affairs."

A copy of the complaint can be found here.

Federal Court Rules Maryland 6th District Violates Constitution

On Wednesday, a three-judge federal court panel ruled that Maryland unconstitutionally drew the boundary lines for the 6^th Congressional District. The decision, which comes one day after the midterm elections, requires Maryland to submit new boundary lines for the 6^th and contiguous districts by March 7, 2019.

Governor Larry Hogan, who was reelected for a second term on Tuesday, made the following statement about the decision:

This is a victory for the vast majority of Marylanders who want free and fair elections and the numerous advocates from across the political spectrum who have been fighting partisan gerrymandering in our state for decades. With this unanimous ruling, the federal court is confirming what we in Maryland have known for a long time — that we have the most gerrymandered districts in the country, they were drawn this way for partisan reasons, and they violate Marylanders’ constitutional rights.