Week in Insights: Canada’s Streaming Tax Gives US Idea to Borrow

Curated by Daniel Xu

In what may prove a watershed move, Canada announced this month that its Online Streaming Act would require streaming services to pay a 5% tax on Canadian revenue to be earmarked for the Canadian broadcasting system, starting in the 2024-2025 broadcast year.

The law aims to benefit local news, French-language and Indigenous programming, and other diverse community content. But critics contend the new tax violates Canadian obligations under free trade agreements and may do more harm than good, discouraging US streaming services from pursuing the Canadian market. That may be true, or it may simply give ...