Reverse The Latest Netflix Tax Hike
Ottawa, ON – After 11 years of this Liberal government has created a cost-of-living crisis, Canadians are now being forced to pay more just to relax at home. That’s why Conservatives brought forward a motion calling on the Liberal government to reject the CRTC’s planned Netflix tax hike and eliminate the streaming tax altogether.
Last week, the Liberal-appointed CRTC announced it plans to triple the streaming tax from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, driving up the price of streaming services like Netflix, Spotify and other online platforms. At a time when families are already struggling to afford food, gas and housing, this Netflix Tax hike will further squeeze household budgets.
It will add to the burden on Canadians already hit by Liberal inflation, higher taxes on food and fuel, and a weak economy marked by high youth unemployment. This tax increase also discourages investment in Canada’s digital and technology sector, weakening our economy at exactly the time it needs growth.
While driving up prices for consumers, the tax also creates a new trade irritant with the United States ahead of the upcoming CUSMA review. US officials have already warned it could trigger retaliatory trade measures, costing not only Canadian wallets, but Canadian jobs in key sectors such as steel, aluminum, forestry and auto manufacturing.
This Liberal streaming tax risks hurting Canadian workers twice: first through lost jobs and then through higher everyday costs. Simply, whether it’s the carbon tax on our steel and aluminum or a Netflix tax on Canadians’ favourite shows, the answer to tariffs from abroad is not more taxes at home.
As Canadians are facing the latest Liberal tax increase, Carney’s government is trying to put the blame on the CRTC. But it was the Liberals who passed the Online Streaming Act that authorized the streaming tax, and it’s Parliament, not the bureaucracy, that has the power to approve taxes on Canadians.
After a long day’s work, Canadians should be able to come home, kick their feet up, and watch the latest TV series or stream their favourite song without being hit with yet another Liberal tax hike. Now’s the chance for Liberals to show they care about affordability by voting to reverse the Netflix Tax hike and scrap the tax altogether.