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      Tech groups sue Maryland to block new digital-ad tax from going into effect

      Kate Cox · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 18 February, 2021 - 21:46

    None of these companies is keen to hand over a slice of its revenue to Maryland.

    Enlarge / None of these companies is keen to hand over a slice of its revenue to Maryland. (credit: Malik Evren | Getty Images )

    A group of business organizations led by the US Chamber of Commerce is suing the state of Maryland, seeking to block implementation of the state's brand-new, first-of-its-kind tax on digital-advertising revenue.

    Maryland's tax bill is "deeply flawed" and "illegal in myriad ways," the suit ( PDF ) alleges, claiming that act will "harm Marylanders and small businesses and reduce the overall quality of Internet content."

    "This is a case of legislative overreach, punishing an industry that supports over one hundred thousand jobs in Maryland and contributes tens of billions of dollars to its economy each year," the Internet Association, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement about the suit. "Internet services and companies are proud to play a role in creating opportunities for Maryland’s small businesses and citizens."

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      Maryland becomes first state in the nation to tax digital advertising

      Kate Cox · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 12 February, 2021 - 21:58

    None of these companies are keen to hand over a slice of their revenue to Maryland.

    Enlarge / None of these companies are keen to hand over a slice of their revenue to Maryland. (credit: Malik Evren | Getty Images )

    Maryland today became the first state in the nation to impose a tax on digital advertising revenue, overriding an earlier veto from the governor and incurring the wrath of piles of Big Tech businesses that are all but guaranteed to sue.

    The bill ( PDF ) levies a state tax of up to 10 percent on the annual gross revenues of all digital advertising aimed at users inside Maryland state. Proceeds from the new tax are explicitly earmarked to go into an education fund dedicated to improving Maryland public schools.

    "Right now, they don’t contribute," the bill's primary sponsor, Sen. Bill Ferguson (D) said of the bill. "These platforms that have grown fast, and so enormously, should also have to contribute to the civic infrastructure that helped them become so successful."

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      IRS may put cryptocurrency question at the top of 1040 to catch cheaters

      Timothy B. Lee · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 28 September, 2020 - 16:36

    IRS may put cryptocurrency question at the top of 1040 to catch cheaters

    Enlarge (credit: Thomas Trutschel / Getty Images News )

    The Internal Revenue Service is considering adding a question to Form 1040—America's primary income tax form—asking tax filers if they dealt in virtual currency in 2020. It would be the agency's latest attempt to crack down on underreporting of cryptocurrency profits.

    If an American buys bitcoin, ether, or another cryptocurrency and then sells it later at a profit, she or he will typically owe capital gains tax on the difference. But blockchains do not have the tax reporting infrastructure that has become standard for conventional financial institutions. So the IRS doesn't have an easy way to figure out who has received a cryptocurrency windfall. In the early years of the bitcoin boom, many taxpayers failed to report large bitcoin-related profits.

    In recent years, the IRS has increased pressure on cryptocurrency traders to comply with tax laws. A 2014 bulletin laid out the basic rules for paying taxes on virtual currency price gains. In 2016, the IRS sought transaction data about thousands of users of Coinbase, a popular US-based cryptocurrency exchange. Coinbase complied with the request in 2018 after some legal wrangling.

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