Md. Says State Court Decision Doesn't Affect Federal Ad Tax Case

The Maryland Supreme Court’s decision on the state’s digital ad tax has no “direct impact” on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case (docket 22-2275), said Maryland Assistant Attorney General Julia Doyle Bernhardt. In a Wednesday letter to the 4th Circuit, the state disagreed with U.S. Chamber of Commerce that Maryland lost any basis to defend the U.S. District Court of Maryland ruling under appeal by businesses (see 2307200029). The district court dismissed only one of four counts on prudential mootness grounds: the First Amendment claim, the assistant AG said. The court dismissed the others as barred by the Tax Injunction Act (TIA), she said. Maryland argues at the 4th Circuit that the TIA bars the entire action, said Bernhardt. “There is no basis to conclude that the decision of the state supreme court affects how this appeal should now proceed. And even if it did, the appropriate remedy would not be reversal, but rather a remand so that the First Amendment claim could be decided by the district court in the first instance.”