Maryland’s Ad Tax Is Here, Will Rest of the US Follow?

A few weeks ago, Maryland became the first state in the U.S. to impose a tax on digital advertising. Last year, Google passed digital service taxes onto advertisers in the UK, Turkey and Austria, and it’s likely to do the same in the U.S. as well.

Maryland’s tax applies to revenue from digital ads that are shown inside the state and is only applicable to companies that generate over $100 million from digital advertising.

Ads from companies (in this case, platforms like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook) will be taxed at a rate of 2.5% to 10%, depending on their annual global revenue.

The tax will come into effect beginning this tax year, and it is expected to generate approximately $250 million in its first year, with the funds from it going towards Maryland’s schools.

Like in Europe, the tax may get passed on to advertisers