"When the Legislature passed its new digital advertising tax ( ESSB 5814), the message was that Google, Meta and Amazon would finally pay their fair share. But as of Oct. 1, these companies are not paying a dime. They simply updated their billing software, added the tax as a separate line item on every invoice and passed the entire cost directly to us - the advertisers."
"But the real inequity is structural: the law is built in a way that specifically burdens local businesses while allowing global companies to avoid most or all of the tax. The tax applies only to ads viewed inside Washington. This creates a loophole known as the "Multiple Points of Use" exemption. A large software or biotech company in Seattle can file a certificate showing its digital ads primarily target customers in California, Texas or Europe."
"But a local business has no such escape hatch. A retailer, plumber or bakery in Tacoma cannot export its advertising. Our customers are our neighbors. Since our ads are viewed in-state, we pay the full surcharge. The result is backward policy: the state is effectively rewarding companies that sell out of state while penalizing those that serve their own communities."
Washington's new digital advertising tax (ESSB 5814) imposes a 10.35% surcharge on digital ads viewed inside the state, effective Oct. 1. Major platforms added the tax as a separate invoice line and passed the full cost to advertisers, so Google, Meta and Amazon do not pay the surcharge themselves. The tax's Multiple Points of Use exemption allows firms targeting customers outside Washington to certify exports and largely avoid the levy. Local businesses cannot export local advertising, so retailers and service providers pay the full surcharge. Traditional media ad buys remain exempt, amplifying the policy's disparate impact on local advertisers.
Read at Tacoma News Tribune
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