U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has called for Canada to repeal its law taxing major television streaming platforms, after Canada’s broadcast regulator recently announced it was tripling its tax.
Hoekstra said on May 28 that he had met with U.S. streaming firms who said the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) Online Streaming Tax will “drive away investment and job creation in Canada’s creative sector.”
“This unfair tax will drive up costs for Canadian consumers and targets U.S. companies. This law should be immediately repealed,” Hoekstra said.
The CRTC’s implementation of the Online Streaming Act in 2024 put a 5 percent tax on streaming platforms, with the revenue going toward supporting Canadian and indigenous content. U.S. giants like Netflix, Apple, and Paramount challenged the initial rules in federal court….