On March 30, 2023, TEI filed an amicus brief in Comcast v. Maryland, which is pending before the Maryland Supreme Court. The fundamental substantive issue in this case is whether the Maryland Digital Advertising Tax (DAT)—which was enacted in 2019—is constitutional. Rather than focus on the substantive issue, the TEI brief focused on the Maryland’s important exception to administrative exhaustion that allows taxpayers and administrators to ask a court to issue a declaratory judgment on the constitutionality of a tax rather than getting mired in the lengthy administrative process. That exception is particularly useful when addressing a novel tax like the DAT that has a number of potential constitutional infirmities. The TEI brief underscored the numerous policy reasons for the exception and also highlighted a few other jurisdictions where the exception is a vital piece of sound tax administration.
Committee