The 15% “TAX” headline is COMPLETE LIE. A misrepresentation - READ THE ARTICLE. It is NOT a TAX but a requirement that streamers spend 15% of Canadian revenue to PURCHASE or CREATE CANADIAN CONTENT. This is a Canadian content law. NOT A TAX.
The 15% “TAX” headline is COMPLETE LIE. A misrepresentation - READ THE ARTICLE. It is NOT a TAX but a requirement that streamers spend 15% of Canadian revenue to PURCHASE or CREATE CANADIAN CONTENT. This is a Canadian content law. NOT A TAX.
They have a percentage of the content that needs to qualify as Canadian, in order to qualify as CanCon (Canadian Content), it needs to pass at least 2 of the 4 MAPL tests.
Music: Are a majority of the songwriters Canadian?
Artist: Is the performer Canadian?
Performance: Was it performed/recorded in Canada?
Lyrics: Were the lyrics written by a Canadian?
Because things like Radio only broadcast, and don’t let you choose your own programming, by making them broadcast a certain percentage of Canadian Content, Canadians are already getting a certain percentage of their royalties; No additional fee needed.
When a Canadian act gets big enough, they often stop counting as CanCon. There was a time when Justin Bieber was popular but didn’t count because he records songs written by non-Canadians while in the USA.
Canadian broadcasters are also required (as a condition of their license) to contribute to the creation of Canadian content. Each time, during the licence renewal, they have to provide detailed information about how they will achieve that.
They can contribute money to a production fund, they can make their own content, they can directly assist and promote Canadian artists, or some combination of those.