Days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said a tax on big tech isn’t necessary, his office declined to clarify whether streamers could still face future financial contributions toward Canadian content.
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Days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said it is not necessary to impose a tax on big tech companies, the Prime Minister’s Office would not clarify whether financial contributions from streamers are entirely off the table in future years.
Carney made the remarks at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday, responding to a question about a CRTC-mandated requirement for streaming services to pay a percentage of their revenues toward Canadian content.
Earlier, the Liberals said in June they wanted the CRTC to scale back that contribution policy and would instead provide $600 million in annual funding directly. However, the federal budget allocated $600 million for the current fiscal year, and a government spokesperson confirmed that the amount could vary in future because the CRTC could still impose some level of financial contribution on streamers.
Culture Minister Marc Miller also said this week that streamers will need to invest in Canadian content.
Spokespeople for the Prime Minister’s Office did not provide a response to questions about where the government stands on imposing financial contributions on streamers in future years.
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