OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cancel the streaming tax in response to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s decision to increase the tax rate to 15 per cent of Canadian revenues.

“The government should be doing everything it can to make life more affordable and that means cutting taxes, not hiking taxes,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Canadians have every reason to worry this higher tax will mean higher prices to stream their favourite movies and TV shows.”

The CRTC announced it is increasing the streaming tax from five to 15 per cent of Canadian revenues for companies with annual Canadian broadcasting revenues above $25 million. The tax increase will apply to online streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, according to CBC News.

Industry and academics warn the streaming tax will make life more expensive for Canadian consumers.

“This decision triples the cost of doing business in Canada and will spark even more inflation in the market, making further investment and innovation less attractive,” according to the Motion Picture Association of Canada.

Michael Geist, University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law, also warned that the CRTC’s decision could mean higher costs for Canadians.

“We may well see increased prices for Canadian consumers as the cost of doing business just went up significantly,” Geist said. “Canada, with this decision, becomes really one of the most expensive [countries] for streamers to operate in.”

“The Carney government needs to wake up to the fact that higher taxes on businesses drive out investment and increase prices for Canadians,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians are already squeezed and the last thing they need is their government making it more expensive to watch Netflix after a long workday.”

The federal government says it’s “currently reviewing the CRTC decision.”