WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 24, 2023)— Americans for Digital Opportunity (ADO), a national 501(c)(4) organization, today publicly launched and announced its dual mission: to combat efforts to impose digital advertising taxes and to promote the millions of entrepreneurs who utilize digital advertising to drive the American economy. ADO is powered by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and is led by President Doug Mayer, who previously ran Marylanders for Tax Fairness, the coalition that opposed Maryland’s digital advertising tax. Former South Dakota State Senator Deb Peters, widely-regarded as a leader in state tax policy for the last decade, will serve as the organization’s Lead Advocate and Tax Expert.
ADO is dedicated to ensuring that access to digital advertising and the entrepreneurial opportunities it creates are not reduced through unfair and damaging tax policies. The organization works to prevent the adoption of digital advertising taxes, which would harm the American economy and hamper the ability of countless businesses and entrepreneurs to market their goods and services online.
As recently reported by Bloomberg News, a growing number of states and local governments are considering legislation to tax digital advertising. ADO will directly engage with legislatures and elected officials proposing these kinds of business-stifling and job-killing bills and will highlight the real-life negative impacts of such taxes on businesses, entrepreneurs, online users, and the economy.
“Americans for Digital Opportunity has a very simple mission—fight the rise of digital advertising taxes across the country and advocate for the entrepreneurs who promote their businesses through online advertising,” said Mayer. “We don’t tax other forms of advertising in America, and it makes zero economic or legal sense to treat digital advertising any differently. We need to promote and celebrate the jobs and industries that digital advertising has created and supports, not invent ways to shut them down.”
A Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council study found that 89 percent of small business owners say that having access to digital and online platforms was key to starting their businesses. A similar study found that at least 82 million Americans (or 33 percent of adults) earn a living online. This is supported by reporting from the Washington Post showing that in 2023 digital advertising will account for more than two-thirds of all advertising spending in the United States.
“Advertising drives growth, and the advent of digital advertising has allowed even the smallest businesses to grow into worldwide brands,” said Christopher Oswald, Executive Vice President of Law, Ethics and Government Relations for the Association of National Advertisers. “It’s important that everyone from America’s elected officials to its citizens understands the massive amount of economic activity and opportunity that responsible advertising and marketing – especially digital advertising – have unlocked in our country. Protecting that will help even more businesses and workers find success.”
“Taxation is one of the government’s most intrusive powers and creating new taxes should never be done outside of clearly established law and tradition,” said Peters. “The efforts to tax digital advertising are not based on sound policy and economic reality and ADO will do everything possible to ensure that lawmakers across the country understand the dire ramifications. The American economy is fueled by businesses of all sizes and the vast majority of them utilize digital advertising – this would be a tax on every single one of them.”
ADO will update the public about current and upcoming legislative activity pertaining to digital advertising taxes across the country. Ensuring that concerned citizens and consumers are educated on digital advertising tax issues and how elected leaders in their respective states are voting will be a top priority.
Association of National Advertisers:
The ANA’s mission is to drive growth for marketing professionals, brands and businesses, the industry, and humanity. The ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. The ANA’s membership consists of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solutions providers (data science and technology companies, ad agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers, and vendors). The ANA creates Marketing Growth Champions by serving, educating, and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members that collectively invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually.
Media Contacts:
Doug Mayer
President, Americans for Digital Opportunity
doug@americansfordigitalopportunity.com
410-703-5604
Christopher Oswald
Executive Vice President, Association of National Advertisers
coswald@ana.net