Jonathan C. Hague
Subscribe to Jonathan C. Hague's PostsJonathan C. Hague focuses his practice on state and local tax matters. He assists businesses and individual taxpayers with state and local tax controversies, compliance and multistate planning opportunities across a variety of tax types, including income, sales and use, and tax credits. Jonathan also works closely with several of the Firm’s taxpayer coalitions focused on specific state tax policy issues such as the taxation of digital goods and services. Read Jonathan Hague's full bio.
A welcome course correction: Texas proposes to end tax on marketplace commissions
By Stephen P. Kranz, Eric D. Carstens, Michael J. Hilkin, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Oct 23, 2026
Posted In Audits, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base, Texas, Transaction Taxes
For several years, we wrote about the prior Texas comptroller’s position that the commissions marketplace providers charge sellers are taxable “data processing services.” The practical result was a tax on both the full price paid by the customer and the share of that price retained by the marketplace as its commission – a result we...
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Texas comptroller moves to end tax on marketplace fees
By Stephen P. Kranz, Eric D. Carstens, Michael J. Hilkin, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Sep 30, 2026
Posted In Audits, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base, Texas, Transaction Taxes
On September 30, 2026, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced that he signed an executive order directing the comptroller’s office to propose an amendment to Rule 3.330 that would remove marketplace and platform fees from the definition of “data processing services” subject to sales and use tax. The move represents a significant reversal of the comptroller’s...
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Utah’s targeted advertising tax heads to court
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Jul 30, 2026
Posted In Allocation/Apportionment, Constitutional Issues, Illinois, Maryland, Nationwide Importance, Utah, Washington
On July 28, 2026, McDermott Will & Schulte, together with Holland & Hart, filed a verified complaint on behalf of the Utah Taxpayers Association challenging Utah’s new targeted advertising tax. The lawsuit asks the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County to declare the tax unlawful and unconstitutional and permanently enjoin the Utah State...
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Washington DOR issues interim guidance on advertising services
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Sep 19, 2025
Posted In Local Tax, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Washington
The Washington Department of Revenue (DOR) released an Interim Guidance Statement (IGS) on Advertising Services implementing Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814 ahead of the October 1, 2025, effective date. In previous posts, we addressed the passage of ESSB 5814 and the sourcing rules. The Advertising Services IGS is part of a broader rollout of...
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Fourth Circuit strikes down Maryland’s digital ad tax “pass-through” ban
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Aug 19, 2025
Posted In Allocation/Apportionment, Constitutional Issues, Maryland, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base
Maryland’s attempt to stop businesses from telling customers about a controversial tax has hit a constitutional wall. On August 15, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the state’s “pass-through” provision in its Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax violates the First Amendment. In Chamber of Commerce et al. v. Lierman,...
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Washington’s advertising services tax: Sourcing rules clear as mud
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Aug 12, 2025
Posted In Allocation/Apportionment, Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base, Washington
Washington’s sales tax on advertising services takes effect October 1, 2025, and comes in two forms: a tax on digital automated services and a tax on retail sales of advertising services. Both impositions apply to digital advertising services delivered using the internet. This makes Washington an outlier as currently only two other states impose a...
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Washington’s Digital Ad Tax Enacted: Is Litigation Now Inevitable?
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on May 21, 2025
Posted In Allocation/Apportionment, Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base, Washington
On May 20, 2025, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 5814, a sweeping tax bill that expands Washington’s retail sales and use tax to digital advertising services and a range of high-tech and IT services. The new law takes effect for sales occurring on and after October 1, 2025. As we...
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Washington’s Digital Ad Tax: A Lawsuit Waiting To Happen?
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on May 1, 2025
Posted In Allocation/Apportionment, Constitutional Issues, Nationwide Importance, Sales Tax, Tax Base, Washington
On April 27, 2025, the Washington Legislature delivered to Governor Bob Ferguson’s desk Senate Bill (SB) 5814, a sweeping tax bill that, among other changes, would expand the state’s retail sales and use tax to sales of digital advertising services and a range of high-tech and IT services. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature,...
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Let the Shakedowns Begin: Tax False Claims Legislation in California
By Stephen P. Kranz, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Apr 22, 2025
Posted In California, Constitutional Issues, False Claims Act, Nationwide Importance
Legislators in Sacramento, California, are mulling over one of the most (if not the most) troubling state and local tax bills of the past decade. Senate Bill (SB) 799, introduced earlier this year and recently amended, would expand the California False Claims Act (CFCA) by removing the “tax bar,” a prohibition that exists in the...
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Kentucky Legislature Ends Judicial Deference To State Agencies
By Stephen P. Kranz, Michael J. Hilkin, Mark Nebergall and Jonathan C. Hague on Apr 2, 2025
Posted In Kentucky, Nationwide Importance
In a realignment of judicial review standards, the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) veto of Senate Bill (SB) 84, effectively abolishing judicial deference to all agency interpretations of statutes and regulations. This development marks a shift in administrative law in the Commonwealth. A RESPONSE TO CHEVRON AND TO KENTUCKY COURTS SB 84...
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