Open Thread: Billboard Tax Unconstitutional?

A Baltimore tax on billboards is being called unconstitutional in a lawsuit filed by Clear Channel Outdoor, according to The Baltimore Sun. 

The lawsuit was filed after the city approved a a $5 per square foot tax on standard billboards and $15 per square foot tax on electronic billboards earlier this year. 

The law primarily impacts Clear Channel because the company owns the vast majority of billboards in the city. 

"This is mainly a tax on one company, Clear Channel, in the whole spectrum of media. We have TV, radio, newspaper this is a tax on billboards," Frank Boston, a lobbyist for Clear Channel, argued earlier this year during a hearing on the tax.

According to Andrew Kleine, the city's budget director, that tax is expected to generate $1million in revenue for Baltimore this fiscal year and $1.7 million the next fiscal year. 

What do you think of Clear Channel's lawsuit alleging Baltimore's billboard tax in unconstitutional? Share your thoughts in the comments.