Maryland's digital advertising tax is struck down on two independent grounds

What changed in detail

On 14 August 2026 the Maryland Tax Court issued three separate Memoranda and Orders on the same day, in three separate dockets - Apple Inc. v. Comptroller of Maryland (23-DA-OO-0456), Google LLC v. Comptroller (23-DA-OO-0649) and Peacock TV LLC v. Comptroller (23-DA-OO-0654) - holding Maryland’s Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax (Md. Code Ann., Tax-Gen. ss 7.5-101 to 7.5-301) unlawful and reversing the Comptroller’s refund denials, with refunds payable with interest. The court held the tax violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act s 1105(2)(A)(i) because digital advertising services are indistinguishable from non-digital advertising services Maryland does not tax; that it fails the Complete Auto tests of fair apportionment, non-discrimination and fair relation under the dormant Commerce Clause through its graduated global-revenue rate tiers; and that it violates the Due Process Clause. In Peacock the court additionally held the broadcast-entity and news-media-entity exemption content-based under the First Amendment and the words ‘news’ and ‘primarily’ unconstitutionally vague, while granting the Comptroller summary judgment on the foreign Commerce Clause count. The decisions are of an adjudicatory administrative agency and are appealable to the Circuit Court within 30 days.

What it means

Both grounds attack features any copy would share. The Internet Tax Freedom Act holding turns on digital advertising being similar to untaxed non-digital advertising; the Commerce Clause holding turns on the graduated global-revenue apportionment tiers. Neither is a Maryland drafting quirk. The decision is at Tax Court level and the Comptroller may appeal to the Circuit Court, so nothing is final — but refund claims should be preserved now rather than after an appellate ruling.