U.S. Chamber Wants Earlier Briefs in Appeal of Md. Digital Ad Tax Ruling

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce moved Tuesday to accelerate by a week the briefing schedule in its challenge of Maryland’s digital ad tax, citing the “federal constitutional rights at stake and the harms that will follow from further delay.” The motion (docket 22-2275) calls for the opening brief and appendix to be pushed up to Jan. 17, from Jan. 24, and the answering brief to Feb. 16 from Feb. 23, with the reply brief due March 6. The change in briefing schedule would be sufficient to ensure that briefing is complete at least four weeks in advance of a May oral argument, avoiding further delay “and the attendant damage to appellants’ members’ rights,” the motion said. The state does not consent to the relief requested. The Chamber is appealing the U.S. District Court of Maryland's March decision dismissing businesses' challenge of the tax and the district court's Dec. 2 dismissal of their challenge to the tax's pass-through ban. The pass-through provision is having a “serious chilling effect on what appellants’ members tell their clients on invoices and account statements,” said the motion. Companies have made estimated payments under the ad tax and many will “continue to do so until the legal status of the law is finally resolved,” it said, “yet they remain barred from identifying any corresponding price increases as line-items or separate fees on their customer communications.”