In 2018, Maryland S.B. 743 temporarily extended the 8% sales tax on short-term vehicle rentals to reach peer-to-peer car sharing companies. That temporary tax is due to sunset June 30, 2020. S.B. 573 seeks to make the tax upon peer-to-peer car sharing companies permanent and increase the sales tax rate to 10% for both traditional
Maryland
The 2020 State Legislative Trend to Watch – Advertising and Data Taxes
Over 40 state legislatures have convened their 2020 legislative sessions. Last year, states moved quickly to impose collection and remittance obligations on remote sellers and marketplace facilitators in light of Wayfair. This year, states are charting a new course – proposing legislation to expand sales taxes to include advertising services or proposing entirely new taxes…
Maryland Digital Advertising Tax Hearing Scheduled – January 29, 2020 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Earlier this month, Maryland State Senators Miller and Ferguson introduced Senate Bill 2, which would tax Maryland digital advertising service gross revenues at up to a 10% rate. Earlier today, the Department of Legislative Services issued the Fiscal and Policy Note for the proposal, which estimates up to $250 million of revenue in the…
Going to the Dogs: Pet Food Seller’s Intelligence Gathering in Maryland Exceeds P.L. 86-272 Protection
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the Comptroller’s determination that an out-of-state pet food seller did not qualify for Public Law 86-272 protection because the seller’s collection of competitive information in Maryland by its employees was not ancillary to solicitation of sales and not de minimis. The out-of-state pet food seller maintained a limited…
Maryland Comptroller’s Limitations on NOLs Ruled Invalid
The Maryland Tax Court reversed the Comptroller’s disallowance of NOLs and essentially struck down a regulation that limited the usage of pre-nexus NOLs. The Comptroller disallowed the taxpayer’s use of NOLs accumulates by entities with no nexus in Maryland that subsequently merged into the taxpayer. The Comptroller relied on a regulation enacted in 2007 that…
Where’s the Substance? Maryland Court of Special Appeals Upholds Assessment of Tax Against Out-of-State Holding Company Based on Parent Company Nexus
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the Maryland Tax Court’s decision holding that the State Comptroller can subject an out-of-state holding company to tax because the holding company did not have economic substance apart from its parent, which was conducting business in the state. In addition to upholding the assessment of tax, the Court…
“Process” This: Maryland Court of Special Appeals Reverses Tax Court and Holds Utility Entitled to Sales Tax Exemption
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals held that the Maryland Tax Court erred as a matter of law in ruling that none of the equipment purchased by a public utility company and used in transmitting electricity from a third-party power plant to the utility’s customers in Maryland qualified for a sales tax exemption applicable to…
GILTI As Charged: Maryland’s Latest Inhospitable Tax Stance
On April 17, 2019, the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury issued Tax Alert 04-19, “Maryland guidance on the reporting and taxation of IRC Section 951A global intangible low taxed income,” further cementing the state’s tax climate as one that is bad for business.
Alert 04-19 describes the Comptroller’s treatment of GILTI. In their article published…
Maryland Tax Court Strikes Again: Out-of-State LLCs Liable for Maryland Income Tax
The Maryland Tax Court held that six nonresident Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) wholly-owned by another out-of-state limited liability company owed Maryland income tax despite the fact that the LLCs, as disregarded entities, had no federal income tax liability. Maryland law imposes an income tax “on each pass-through entity that has . . . any member…
Legal Alert: Maryland bill proposes digital goods tax
The Maryland House of Delegates is considering legislation (House Bill 426) that would impose sales and use tax on digital products and sales tax on digital codes. If signed into law, Maryland would begin taxing digital products and digital codes on July 1, 2019. House Bill 426 was read for the first time in the…



