Canada wants to tax digital service providers like Netflix and Amazon

As part of the economic update announced in Parliament by Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland today, the federal government made clear its intention to implement a national child care program modelled on the one we enjoy in Quebec. According to Freeland, this multi-year plan, to be detailed in the spring 2021 federal budget, could be paid for by levying digital sales tax on consumers of companies like Netflix and Amazon, which could raise as much as $1-billion over five years. These companies don’t currently charge GST or QST for their streaming services.

The so-called “Netflix tax” has been debated between the right- and left-leaning parties for years, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected the idea when asked about it in 2017.

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