Awww yeeaahh. I'll just use my mom's address in TN as the billing address since I still have a bank there. Thanks Stump!
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California cities consider adding a "Netflix Tax" to digital entertainment
- Thread starter Guevara
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StopMakingSense
Member
Both of these.
Wouldn't new taxes on pot alone overcome any supposed shortfall? And isn't internet access already taxed?
New sales/sales tax from pot won't be here till 2018 at the earliest, when recreational sales licensing begins.
God Dayumm
Banned
Amazing all these replies looking to get out of paying their fair share...
Regressive taxes have nothing to do with fair share
So, this is how Republicans are born.
That and being told you're trying to cheat the system or are being cheap if you dare question it.
Like this:
Amazing all these replies looking to get out of paying their fair share...
We have a general sales tax that applies to all nonessential goods and services (the GST). We don't have a tax on top of that just for streaming video services.In Canada, Shomi and CraveTV (Canadian Netflix equivalent-ish) both have taxes applied to the services. I think it's logical to add the same thinking to Netflix too.
Americans have weird tax problems with online goods in large part because they let cities and counties levy their own sales taxes. It makes charging tax ridiculously complicated compared to just the federal and provincial taxes as we have in Canada. With thousands of sets of taxes to deal with rather than a dozen, online businesses rightfully complain that requiring them to sort them all out would be ridiculous.
Well this Netflix tax can go fuck itself.
Not going to pay it if it passes in my city.
You wouldn't really have a choice. It'd be part of your bill.
Septimus Prime
Member
GAF honestly isn't as progressive as it seems to be on the surface. If you lurk a few community threads, this comes up all the time.It's just funny is all coming from a community that leans very left of center to hear it complaining about taxes. Taxes that fund the very largess government left leaning people tend to like.
As an independent who wants a tiny government and less taxes, this is fun thread to read...
Yeah. We actually just approved the cigarette tax, which is a regressive tax whose express purpose is to punish cigarette buyers to nudge them into quitting, so it's hard to see this proposed Netflix tax as something other than punishment for using a specific streaming service (though I very much think the real reason is just to increase state tax revenue). It's not the same as collecting sales tax from online purchases--made from retailers in the state--which is just enforcement of use taxes.Regressive taxes have nothing to do with fair share
gamechanger87
Member
It's just funny is all coming from a community that leans very left of center to hear it complaining about taxes. Taxes that fund the very largess government left leaning people tend to like.
As an independent who wants a tiny government and less taxes, this is fun thread to read...
I believe people demand increased government services, but don't want their taxes to increase. As people don't like hearing that services are cut they complain and say tax that other person, just not me. It's why taxing the rich is such an easy target.
Federal and state governments are a bloated mess and they only way they can be funded is either increased revenues or cut costs. People who lean left typically don't want to cut costs but demand higher taxes as long as they aren't the ones getting taxed (see 1%ers).
StopMakingSense
Member
Yeah. We actually just approved the cigarette tax, which is a regressive tax whose express purpose is to punish cigarette buyers to nudge them into quitting, so it's hard to see this proposed Netflix tax as something other than punishment for using a specific streaming service.
I don't think comparing a 2 dollar a pack cigarette tax to a 9% tax on a 10-12 dollar monthly fee is reasonable. Also the OP clearly states that this is for any paid streaming providers.
I refuse to believe any sane person seriously thinks that:This kind of thinking is why Calexit would create a failed nation. They'd figure out a way to make everyone's effective tax rate over 100%.
A) it has a chance of happening
B)it is a remotely good idea
Septimus Prime
Member
My bad for missing that part.I don't think comparing a 2 dollar a pack cigarette tax to a 9% tax on a 10-12 dollar monthly fee is reasonable. Also the OP clearly states that this is for any paid streaming providers.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
With Netflix getting shittier with their selection, this is just going to push people back into piracy even more.
StopMakingSense
Member
Just to be clear we're talking about $0.10 increase in your bill?
like .90 to 1.00
Big Baybee
Member
I don't get the anger. But I also don't mind paying taxes.
To Far Away Times
Member
Oregon is super liberal and has no sales tax and has a kicker program for revenue surpluses.It's just funny is all coming from a community that leans very left of center to hear it complaining about taxes. Taxes that fund the very largess government left leaning people tend to like.
As an independent who wants a tiny government and less taxes, this is fun thread to read...
Taxes are a neccisary evil but should always be used responsibly. Net Neutrality is also a big thing at play here.
With Netflix getting shittier with their selection, this is just going to push people back into piracy even more.
Tax is like $1 added to the bill a month. If that drives people to piracy than anything will
And like HBO, Netflix is becoming more about original content than watching random movies
This shit should be taxed and you all know it. Just like getting away with not paying
If you live somewhere that charges sales tax on cable subscriptions and digital downloads already, but not digital subscriptions (like Netflix, the New York Times, etc.), I think it would be fair to expect the same sales tax to be ultimately applied to digital subscriptions as well.
But if your state wants to single out only digital subscriptions, or specifically cable-replacing streaming video subscriptions, for taxation while ignoring cable and/or downloads, or apply some special tax on top of the standard sales tax for some policy reason, then that's clearly wrong and should totally be opposed.
But if your state wants to single out only digital subscriptions, or specifically cable-replacing streaming video subscriptions, for taxation while ignoring cable and/or downloads, or apply some special tax on top of the standard sales tax for some policy reason, then that's clearly wrong and should totally be opposed.
You Are Viewtiful
Member
Netflix should be subject to sales tax like all digital products.
StopMakingSense
Member
But if your state wants to single out only digital subscriptions, or specifically cable-replacing streaming video subscriptions, for taxation while ignoring cable and/or downloads, or apply some special tax on top of the standard sales tax for some policy reason, then that's clearly wrong and should totally be opposed.
The idea is it i making up for the shortfall in declining cable tax revenues.
Dreams-Visions
Member
That's not how living in a city works.Well this Netflix tax can go fuck itself.
Not going to pay it if it passes in my city.
Sure why not, there was a shitload of tax revenue lost when people got rid of cable tv, gotta make it up somehow.
Yep, this.
Cities don't provide essential services for free, people. They are able to provide them via tax revenue. Sales tax, gas tax, property tax, utilities (electricity, heat, water, telephone, cable) tax, and other taxes are essential to keeping your city functioning properly. You don't want to be in a city that can't afford to care for crumbling roads, can't get trash pickup service to your street, can't effectively address sewage issues, can't keep enough K-12 schools open (leading to overcrowding, poor conditions) and/or can't clear and salt roads to deal with bad winter weather and can't staff adequate numbers of police and fire fighters.
Ask cities like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw, MI about that experience.
Some of you are really showing your age in here.
Gentleman Jack
Member
That's not how living in a city works.
Yep, this.
Cities don't provide essential services for free, people. They are able to provide them via taxes. Sales tax, gas tax, property tax, utilities (electricity, heat, water, telephone, cable) tax, and other taxes are essential to keeping your city functioning properly. You don't want to be in a city that can't afford to care for crumbling roads, can't get trash pickup service to your street, can't effectively address sewage issues, can't keep enough K-12 schools open (leading to overcrowding, poor conditions) and/or can't clear and salt roads to deal with bad winter weather and can't staff adequate numbers of police and fire fighters.
Ask cities like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw, MI about that experience.
California cities.... among them Glendale, Santa Barbara, Stockton and Sacramento
Random new taxes to fill gaps in the general fund are going to get a lot of backlash in a year where we have already passed a $9B bond measure to pay for schools. Folks keep tabs on what's promised and don't give a shit if the general fund ends up short. The fiction that a household that subscribes to prime video, netflix and hulu requires 3x the tax revenue for maintenance on the same wires that bring all three in is clear bullshit and people are calling it out. It's not a civic duty to just accept the proposal as is because those cable taxes dried up.
Alcoremortis
Member
I mean you don't pay for any of those to begin with. And taxing something like the New York Times would be awful since Newspapers are very much in the public good (and struggling).
To be clear I think that taxing non-polluting utilities is stupid. However, if California charges a tax on cable (and the article didn't make it clear whether they do or not), it's kind of unfair to not charge Netflix the same tax.
The internet isn't non-polluting. The energy requirement for keeping servers running has to come from somewhere and it's usually a fuel oil or natural gas power plant, even in California. And streaming services require more constant power than any other kind of service.
Frozenprince
Banned
Man california loves to tax everything.
It's the only way they can afford anything since they gutted their housing tax in the 70's.
If you can't separate streaming services, that have the exact same content and subscription models as cable which already are taxed, from browsing websites...then I don't know how to help you.
If you don't want sales tax, vote for increases to the upper levels of income taxes.
You must not be from California. We already tax the upper levels of income taxes and the money goes towards education. Just this past November, we extended the state proposition to tax those with high incomes.
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