Scrap the Latest Liberal Tax Hike
Ottawa, ON – Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, sent the following letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney calling on him to scrap the Netflix tax hike so Canadians can afford to stream their favourite shows:
Prime Minister,
This week, the Liberal appointed CRTC announced it wants to increase costs for Canadians by tripling the streaming tax from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, driving up the cost for Canadians wanting to enjoy Netflix, Spotify and other online services. For 11 years, Liberals have been hiking taxes, and Canadians have been paying more for food, fuel and housing.
Let me be clear: Conservatives oppose the Liberal ‘Netflix tax,’ and I’m asking you to reverse this tax hike so Canadians can afford to enjoy their streaming services.
Keeping this tax in place sends a message to investors and trading partners that Canada is more expensive, less predictable and harder to do business in. You don’t strengthen Canadian culture by punishing investment, driving up costs and undermining our country’s economic growth.
Already, Canadians pay more for Liberal mismanagement. The latest inflation data from Statistics Canada found that the price at the grocery store continued rising 3.8 per cent year-over-year.
In fact, for every month you have been Prime Minister, food inflation has outpaced overall inflation, forcing Canadians to pay more for the basic necessities of life. This just confirms what Canadians already know: 81.1 per cent of respondents say their food expenses have increased the most over the last year, with 56.7 per cent reporting a significant increase.
It’s pushing 34 per cent of Canadians to use their life savings or borrow money just to afford food, as 24 per cent of Canadians now live in households reporting food insecurity, including over 30 per cent of children and single, non-senior Canadians.
As I’ve made you aware, this is a made-in-Canada problem caused by your taxes on producing, transporting and selling food. Your taxes on food have only compounded the taxes on our energy, which you have announced you’ll be raising, despite Canadians experiencing a 19.2 per cent increase in the energy costs and a 28.6 per cent spike in the price of gas. Canadians know the solution to the high price at the pump: cut the taxes that make filling up 22.3 cents more expensive per litre than in the US.
But instead of relief, your plan offered just one-third of the tax cut for a third of the year, compared to the Conservative plan. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, your less than half measure will save the average household just $124.
While Canadians are begging for a break, your Minister of Finance had the gall to say “we have already acted probably faster and certainly in a more comprehensive way than some of our peers” when asked if he would provide more relief for Canadians struggling from Liberal inflation.
As countries around the world cut taxes on gas, you waited. As countries like Ireland announced even further cuts after prices tick higher, you continue to wait. Leaders act, and you should act by reducing the tax burden on Canadians. Adopt a real plan to save Canadians 25 cents a litre or about $1,200 for a family of four, for the rest of the year by removing all Liberal taxes on gas and diesel, and reverse your Netflix tax hike.
While Canadians are struggling with the cost of filling up their tank and their grocery cart, they don’t need another tax on watching their favourite show, movie or listening to their favourite song.
Canada should be the most affordable country in the world. It’s time to scrap your Liberal Netflix tax hike.