马里兰州税务法院日前裁定该州2021年颁布的数字广告税违反联邦《互联网税收自由法》、美国宪法第一修正案、商业条款和正当程序条款，并命令州政府向Apple、Google和Peacock TV等科技公司退还已征收税款[1]。
这部税法对全球年总收入超过1亿美元的公司按2.5%征税，对全球年收入150亿美元以上的公司税率最高达10%[1]。税务法院指出，该法基于全球收入而非州内广告收入进行征税，认为调节州际商业应为国会职责而非州议会职责[1]。该税法原定每年为马里兰州K-12教育计划筹集约2.5亿美元[1]。
马里兰州立法机构对这一裁决表示反对。州议会参议院主席比尔·弗格森和众议院议长约瑟琳·佩纳-梅尔尼克发表声明表示"诚恳地不同意"税务法院的裁决[1]。这一裁定延续了去年第四巡回美国上诉法院的相关判决，该法院此前裁定该法的部分条款因阻止科技公司告知客户税收信息而违反宪法[1]。
Maryland's tax court ruled on Friday that the state's 2021 digital advertising tax violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, the First Amendment, and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, ordering the state government to refund collected taxes to technology companies including Apple, Google, and Peacock TV [1]. The tax was originally designed to generate approximately $250 million annually for the state's K-12 education programs [1].
The invalidated law imposed a 2.5% tax on companies with global annual revenues exceeding $100 million, with rates climbing to as high as 10% for companies with global annual revenues above $150 billion [1]. The tax court determined that the tax's structure—based on global income rather than advertising revenue generated within Maryland—violated constitutional protections, arguing that Congress rather than the state legislature should regulate interstate commerce [1]. Additionally, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had previously ruled that provisions of the law violated the Constitution by preventing tech companies from informing customers about the tax [1].
Maryland legislative leaders expressed their disagreement with the decision. Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Jocelyne Peña-Melnick issued a statement indicating they "respectfully disagreed" with the tax court's ruling [1].