Mass. lawmakers eye a ‘Netflix tax’ to fund community TV channels
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- Nov 29, 2003
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Already have it here in Florida, luckily it comes off my Gift Card balances, so it does not costs me anything.
I will not post anything else on the subject since it is political and outside the pit.
I pay sales tax on streaming services, but this is the first I'd heard of a tax to specifically fund community TV channels. It isn't really clear to me who is going to watch the community TV channels when there is effectively no cable TV any more.
- Nov 29, 2003
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13.5% here, 7% to the state, 6.5% to the county, but it just goes into the general funds.
When I had Cable, that fee was in my bill , Franchise Fee if I remember correctly, been a while since I had Cable ( had Playstation Vue when it was a thing) , so the memory might be fuzzy
They will be available via Roku app.
Personally, I do not agree with or support this tax. People should not have to pay higher streaming fees - and you know that's what will happen to make up the extra revenue the streamers will be losing - in order to prop up community tv channels which are supposed to be funded by the local governments and non-profit organizations mentioned in the article. Someone is always looking to dip into your pocket for their cause and the supply of funds is not inexhaustible. At some point tough decisions need to be made regarding whether or not some services should or shouldn't still be offered or the method by which they are delivered is still viable.
- Nov 29, 2003
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I do not either, but these taxes/fees have been attached to Cable TV since as far back as I remember.
But since there are only 39 Million Cable TV subs left ( plus 16 Million Satellite Subs, 13 Million streaming Live TV subs), they have to get the money from somewhere to finance these type of services that maybe 3 people watch.
And yes, I do find these channels worthless since you can get the info online in today’s world.
Seriously? I've been paying a tax on Sat TV that doesn't exist for cable TV. Talk about unfair!
I ponder the wisdom of this though, as Cable sub numbers are dropping. Granted, the people who'd benefit might be the people with cable still. I wonder whether a deal with the local PBS station and sub-channeling / streaming it makes more sense.
Ever hear of PBS Passport? You might know of it by locals stations, such as MPT Passport.
No tax here (TN) for streaming charges or internet charges. Got to love when governments charge a tax that people don't want to pay to fund an item that nobody cares about...
We are supposed to pay the state sales tax on streaming services. Of the two I checked, HBO charges me, Netflix does not.
These fees are supposed to come from cable franchises to fund their FCC required access stations.
- Nov 29, 2003
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Depends on how the law is written I guess, HBO is offered as a cable channel, Netflix is not.
I checked all of mine, Sales Tax on Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu Bundle and Vudu ( when I buy digital movies)but not the 13.5%.
But HBOMAX and YouTube TV, I get charged the 13.5% but not sales tax which is 6%.
But when I preordered NFLST for $249 via YTTV, I was only charged sales tax.
