Trudeau rejects call for five per cent tax on broadband Internet services
Posted Jun 15, 2017 12:32:04 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is swiftly shooting down a parliamentary committee’s recommendation that Ottawa impose a five per cent tax on broadband Internet services as a way to “level the playing field” in Canada’s rapidly changing news industry.
Liberal members of the Commons heritage committee have released a long-awaited report with 20 recommendations aimed at helping the slumping media industry adapt to significant business challenges brought on by technological changes and evolving consumer habits.
The majority report calls on Ottawa to apply the tax, levied on broadband Internet providers, to high-speed Internet services that allow for the streaming of music, movies and TV shows, but not to slower and cheaper services.
An Internet tax would add hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues to the Canadian Media Fund, which already receives a levy on cable bills to finance the production of Canadian content.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal after the report’s release, Trudeau said he respects the independence of the committee, but rejects the idea of a raising taxes on the middle class through an Internet broadband tax.
The committee report also recommends requiring the publicly funded CBC to eliminate advertising on its digital platforms; letting media companies deduct taxes on digital advertising on Canadian-owned platforms; and a tax credit for print outlets for a portion of their digital investments.
