Netflix, Hulu Are Off the Hook for Illinois Locality Video Taxes

Netflix Inc., Hulu LLC, DISH Network LLC, and other streaming and satellite services can avoid paying franchise fees imposed on cable companies to East St. Louis and more than 100 other Illinois municipalities, the Seventh Circuit ruled Friday.

Judge Frank H. Easterbrook rejected the city’s contention that all streaming depends on cables buried under streets or strung over them. “If the City is right, then The New York Times, CNN, Major League Baseball, and any other entity that transmits videos to paying customers likewise must pay fees to every municipality in Illinois,” he wrote for the unanimous ...