The next Federal Budget is less than a week away, and now the will-they won’t-they over a so-called “Netflix Tax” is in full swing. It had been reported that it was off, but now it looks to be back.
Fairfax is reporting that the Netflix Tax idea is back in contention for the Budget. The Netflix Tax would see the Coalition Government apply the 10 per cent Goods and Services Tax to intangibles purchased from overseas.
Intangibles in this scenario would reportedly include everything from music and ebooks through to videos and apps. Basically, anything purchased through an online store for use in Australia.
It’s unclear as yet whether the Government will extend the tax to services like Uber, Airbnb and other app-based services, but given that Netflix is in the firing line, it’s not out of the question.
Indications earlier in the week pointed to the Coalition erring on the side of caution when it came to taxing services like Netflix, given that it would put the Government on the back-foot with ordinary voters looking to get their content legally. [Fairfax]