Billboard Tax Cases Still Need Review, Owners Tell Supreme Court

A First Amendment ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court last week “underscores the need for further review” of whether billboard taxes are constitutional, outdoor advertising companies told the court.

The court upheld an Austin, Texas, ordinance banning businesses from advertising on digital billboards or signs off their property. The 5-4 decision on April 24 found the ban doesn’t impermissibly restrict speech because it is location-based and content-neutral.

That ruling has “no bearing on the correct resolution” of two petitions the court held off on deciding—Clear Channel v. Raymond and Cincinnati v. Lamar Advantage—that challenge the constitutionality ...