[Op-Ed] Proposed digital ads tax would hurt small businesses, communities served

By DR. TUSHAR SHAH
Founder, VaSu Smiles

In 2025, I opened a new orthodontic practice in Bellwood, Ill., dedicated to providing affordable care. My mom — who never forgot how hard it was for my family to pay for the orthodontic care I’d needed as a kid — had encouraged me to open the practice for years. When I finally did, I named it in honor of my parents.

In just 18 months, we’ve helped hundreds of patients attain a beautiful smile — and the confidence that comes with it. Some adult patients are so happy to finally have braces that they cry. We’re committed to keeping our orthodontic care accessible — so it’s worrying that Illinois legislators are considering a bill, HB 4894, that could make it harder for us to reach the patients who need us, and drive up the cost of our services.

HB 4894 would impose a steep new tax on digital ads. The bill’s proponents say the tax would be paid by big companies like Google and Meta. But taxes on goods and services are invariably paid by the purchasers — not the producers — of those goods and services. That means the big companies will simply pass the tax along to small businesses like mine that purchase their ads, leaving us to shoulder the burden.

I’m not sure lawmakers understand how tough that would be for thousands of Illinois small businesses that rely on affordable digital ads to grow and succeed. For my low-cost orthodontics practice, digital ads are nothing short of essential. That’s because traditional orthodontists get almost all their patients from dentist referrals. But my patients rarely have a dentist, so we have to find other ways to reach them — and digital ads are by far the most effective way to do that.

In part, that’s because our digital ad partners’ sophisticated data-analytics technology helps ensure our ads are sent to the right audience. But there’s actually a more compelling human factor at play. Many of our patients have limited experience with medical care providers, making them nervous about contacting us. Digital ads allow us to feature video clips highlighting our friendly, positive office environment. Often, our most effective ads feature homemade videos made by our patients, who do the best job of speaking to the community we want to serve. In short, digital ads not only allow us to reach the right audience, but help us communicate in a way that builds vital trust and confidence.

Critically, digital ads also allow us to make the most of our advertising budget — helping us connect with the most patients for the least cost and keep our high-quality services affordable. For instance, digital ad technology allows us to send ads to people within the Chicagoland area who’ve been searching online for affordable orthodontic care, ensuring we don’t waste money sending ads to people uninterested in our offerings. We can also see how each ad performs, allowing us to replace low-performing ads with more effective alternatives. Those digital ad-specific efficiencies boost our margins, freeing up resources we can invest in the practice and our patients.

If our ad costs go up, however, we’ll be faced with three undesirable options: We can absorb the cost of the new tax, leaving us with less money to invest in staff, equipment, and patient care; purchase fewer ads, diminishing our reach and growth; or raise our prices, making our services less accessible, and undermining our mission.

Illinois businesses are already among the nation’s most heavily taxed, and many are struggling to navigate rising costs, plunging consumer confidence, and broad economic uncertainty. The last thing we need is a tax on the digital ads that help us reach the right customers — or, in my case, the patients who can benefit from our services. I urge lawmakers to scrap HB 4894, and — rather than saddling small businesses with another tax — look for new ways to help us grow, succeed, and serve our communities.

Dr. Tushar Shah, DDS, is the founder of Bellwood, Ill.-based VaSu Smiles and a member of the American Board of Orthodontics.