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The Canadian heritage minister said the federal government is still considering how to best tax international streaming services, like Netflix, as part of a broader overhaul of Canada’s Broadcasting Act.
Speaking at the Prime Time in Ottawa Conference held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa on Thursday, Mélanie Joly said there has been a lot of confusion about the government’s stance pertaining to online streaming services such as Netflix.
International streaming services, such as Netflix and YouTube, do not collect and remit sales taxes on their services. Traditional broadcasters, who are competing with these services, have long argued the failure to collect those taxes gives streaming services an unfair advantage.
Last year, the Canadian heritage committee, a parliamentary committee tasked with studying ways to aid Canada’s slumping media production companies, proposed a tax on individual internet subscriptions. The tax, which would have amounted to a five per cent increase in monthly bills, would have been used to fund Canadian content creation.
The idea was immediately dismissed by the Liberal government as it was seen as an increased financial burden to middle-class Canadians.
However, Joly told the crowd in Ottawa, that the idea of collecting sales taxes from Netflix is far from settled.
“There is no tax exemption that has been negotiated. As a government, we’d never do that,” Joly told the room of around 500 people. “There’s also been no discussion regarding the fact that we will never change our laws or regulate. That was never part of the conversation either.”
Joly said any addition of new taxes to international streaming services, or the imposition of federal or provincial sales taxes on those companies, will be part of a review of the Canadian Broadcasting Act, which the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will begin this year.
“I think the real conversation, and I hope we will be able to work together, is the review of the Broadcasting Act. This is how we can fundamentally change how we have Canadian content in our country in the future,” she said.
On the heels of the parliamentary committee’s report in September, Netflix pledged to spend $500 million more than it is already spending in Canada on new Canadian TV shows and movies over the next five years.
Joly told the crowd in attendance that the announcement from Netflix was welcomed by the federal government, but the issue of how to deal with the growing popularity of international streaming services is one the government is still grappling with.
“We always thought, we don’t have the tools in our system right now to ultimately protect our culture on the web,” she said. “Therefore the investment in Netflix was something that made sense. It made sense because it’s $100 million per year, for five years.”
She said the Netflix deal was part of a “transition plan” to ensure Canadian-produced content while the government plots out next steps to ensure the longevity of Canadian-made film and TV.
The Prime Time in Ottawa Conference is held annually by the Canadian Media Producers Association. The event, which regularly attracts some of the country’s top film and TV producers, is sponsored by Netflix as well as a handful of other Canadian broadcasters and media organizations. The conference will wrap up on Friday.
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Speaking at the Prime Time in Ottawa Conference held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa on Thursday, Mélanie Joly said there has been a lot of confusion about the government’s stance pertaining to online streaming services such as Netflix.
International streaming services, such as Netflix and YouTube, do not collect and remit sales taxes on their services. Traditional broadcasters, who are competing with these services, have long argued the failure to collect those taxes gives streaming services an unfair advantage.
Last year, the Canadian heritage committee, a parliamentary committee tasked with studying ways to aid Canada’s slumping media production companies, proposed a tax on individual internet subscriptions. The tax, which would have amounted to a five per cent increase in monthly bills, would have been used to fund Canadian content creation.
The idea was immediately dismissed by the Liberal government as it was seen as an increased financial burden to middle-class Canadians.
However, Joly told the crowd in Ottawa, that the idea of collecting sales taxes from Netflix is far from settled.
“There is no tax exemption that has been negotiated. As a government, we’d never do that,” Joly told the room of around 500 people. “There’s also been no discussion regarding the fact that we will never change our laws or regulate. That was never part of the conversation either.”
Joly said any addition of new taxes to international streaming services, or the imposition of federal or provincial sales taxes on those companies, will be part of a review of the Canadian Broadcasting Act, which the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will begin this year.
“I think the real conversation, and I hope we will be able to work together, is the review of the Broadcasting Act. This is how we can fundamentally change how we have Canadian content in our country in the future,” she said.
On the heels of the parliamentary committee’s report in September, Netflix pledged to spend $500 million more than it is already spending in Canada on new Canadian TV shows and movies over the next five years.
Joly told the crowd in attendance that the announcement from Netflix was welcomed by the federal government, but the issue of how to deal with the growing popularity of international streaming services is one the government is still grappling with.
“We always thought, we don’t have the tools in our system right now to ultimately protect our culture on the web,” she said. “Therefore the investment in Netflix was something that made sense. It made sense because it’s $100 million per year, for five years.”
She said the Netflix deal was part of a “transition plan” to ensure Canadian-produced content while the government plots out next steps to ensure the longevity of Canadian-made film and TV.
The Prime Time in Ottawa Conference is held annually by the Canadian Media Producers Association. The event, which regularly attracts some of the country’s top film and TV producers, is sponsored by Netflix as well as a handful of other Canadian broadcasters and media organizations. The conference will wrap up on Friday.
查看原文...
