Ottawa is considering taxing Netflix, other streaming services

[roopi]

I wonder what will be next. Where does Canada rank on taxes paid compared to other countries?

http://www.news1130.com/2017/01/17/o...tflix-reports/

OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – Consumer rights groups aren’t happy after hearing news that the Trudeau government may be considering the possibility of a so-called ‘Netflix tax.’

Right now, Canadian streaming services are forced to charge sales taxes to their customers, but that isn’t the case for more popular internationally based sites such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.

There are reports that briefing notes for the federal heritage minister show the government is considering the option forcing these groups to tax Canadian customers, which is upsetting to Bruce Cran with the Consumers’ Association of Canada. “Any new tax is a problem for everybody. This just seems like another burden that they want to put on the backs of consumers. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous they are even considering something like this.”

He adds it’s a slippery slope when government begins trying to tax every service on the Internet. “That could open more doors in the future where similar things could be treated in the same manner.”

The federal finance minister’s office doesn’t deny this is an option on the table, stressing the department regularly assesses the tax system to make sure it’s fair and fiscally responsible.

[kertejud2]

Shame they didn't go with the alternative headline: "Ottawa considering enforcing current goods and services tax on a service which is also charged to similar services."

[JustinL]

Originally posted by roopi
I wonder what will be next. Where does Canada rank on taxes paid compared to other countries?

http://www.news1130.com/2017/01/17/o...tflix-reports/

I'm surprised we've gotten away without having to pay GST on services like this for as long as we have. It's happening all over the world already, iracing.com just started charging Europeans the VAT on subscriptions.

[ZenOps]

Bastards!

[Seth1968]

Whatever it is, don't ask Spice Girl Justin.

His response to any question is nothing more than a deer in headlights.

[suntan]

ITT I learned kertejud2 has never bought anything from the US.

[dj_patm]

We don't have to pay GST for Netflix?

But why?

[Mitsu3000gt]

If my Netflix subscription goes up by $0.49 there will be zero f*cks given. I suspect most people won't even notice.

[kertejud2]

Originally posted by dj_patm
We don't have to pay GST for Netflix?

But why?

Well you do have to pay it, you (me, we, etc.) just aren't.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...x-evasion.html

If your Netflix monthly payment looks like it’s tax-free, it’s not. Canadian Netflix subscribers are technically required to voluntarily hand over the sales tax even if they don’t see it on their statements, according to Finance Canada.

*snip*

“It’s probably more out of ignorance that people aren’t doing this,” Cisterna said.

“Some people might know they have this obligation and then they actually don’t do it – that would be, in my mind, a form of tax evasion.”

“We’re talking about such small amounts of money on a per-subscriber basis that, I mean, the reality is trying to pursue those kinds of cases just isn’t economical,”


So if you make Netflix charge GST, the government is simply collecting a tax that they already should be collecting anyway, but nobody is paying.

[timdog]

the article is vague. at first it sounded like some special tax for things like Netflix. which would be total bullshit. if they are just talking about enforcing GST on the service, that's fine, but that's unclear unless I'm missing something. when I first read it, it sounded like some BS tax to offset the loss of revenue from Shaw/Rogers/Bell. hopefully I'm wrong