Yesterday Virginia lawmakers voted down a proposed new tax on streaming services like Netflix. The bill would have added a tax to streaming services from Netflix to Spotify to help replace a drop in revenue from cable TV taxes.
This tax would have added $0.55 to a standard $10.99 Netflix bill. Well still far lower than the taxes you would find on cable TV the bill faced strong negative public opinion. This resulted in a unanimous vote in the Virginia House of Delegates committee to vote it down 20-0 effectively killing the bill.
“You know, ‘Netflix and chill,’” Del. Tim Hugo, R-Fairfax, said on the House floor. “Well, my Democratic friends say, ‘Netflix and tax.’”
“This is exactly one of the reasons that Virginia is becoming increasingly unpopular with the millennial generation,” said Del. Emily Brewer, R-Suffolk, 33, a newcomer to the House.
Some parts of the United States already have with Chicago, IL being one of the first areas to have a so-called Netflix Tax. Recently though there has been a push back against efforts to tax streaming services and Virginia is one more state to see their proposed tax voted down.
This is a great example though of how public opinion can affect laws. Hopefully, other states and cities see this and decided against taxing streaming services.
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