Annual Tax to Marylanders *
On February 11, 2021, Maryland earned the unfortunate distinction as the only state in the nation with a tax on digital advertising when the Maryland General Assembly overturned Governor Hogan’s veto of House Bill 732.
Despite overwhelming support for Governor Hogan’s veto, the Maryland General Assembly voted to raise taxes and costs on Marylanders in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. This tax increase was historically shortsighted, foolish, and harmful to countless small businesses and employees, and Marylanders will remember it that way.
Marylanders for Tax Fairness will continue our fight against this burdensome and unfair tax increase as lawsuits progress in the coming weeks. As we look toward the future, our coalition will continue doing the following:
Marylanders For Tax Fairness is an independent coalition of Marylanders and Maryland businesses of all sizes dedicated to ensuring that taxes implemented by the General Assembly do not place an unnecessary and undue burden on the state’s entrepreneurs and job creators. Specifically, Marylanders For Tax Fairness is actively working to advocate against House Bill 732 - Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, which raises taxes on any business or person who uses digital advertising to market their services.
We are Marylanders, entrepreneurs, and small businesses who have joined together to fight against unfair taxes being thrust upon the state’s main job creators at the worst possible time in modern history.
At the very end of the 2020 Maryland legislative session, the General Assembly rushed House Bill 732 - Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, a very shortsighted and deeply flawed bill, to the floor and passed it along party lines. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the normal legislative process was curtailed, and public input was limited. Although Governor Hogan vetoed the bill, the legislature overturned the veto on February 11, 2021.
The outcome is taxes on every single person and business that advertises services online, from the smallest mom and pop to the largest corporation to your next-door neighbor. With the governor’s veto overturned, Maryland now has the notorious distinction of being the only state in the country to enact a digital advertising tax.
Today, businesses of all sizes are marketing online. Access to platforms that provide advertising is direct, easy to manage, and more people than ever are on those platforms. This is why House Bill 732 is so damaging to both Maryland’s and countless local economies. It’s not just Fortune 500 companies that advertise online, it’s your local barber, your local auto mechanic, your local watering hole. House Bill 732 raises taxes and the cost of doing business for all these hardworking Marylanders and the ripple effect is obvious: higher taxes, higher prices, fewer jobs.
Want to join our coalition of Marylanders and Maryland businesses working to stop this tax, follow these steps: