{"id":9647,"date":"2025-04-11T02:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T02:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/9647\/"},"modified":"2025-04-11T02:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T02:31:12","slug":"u-k-streaming-tax-proposal-netflix-responds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/9647\/","title":{"rendered":"U.K. Streaming Tax Proposal: Netflix Responds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tGlobal streaming giants didn\u2019t mince their words on Thursday when they reacted to a call from a U.K. parliamentary committee for a levy<\/a> of 5 percent of U.K. subscriber revenue on foreign streaming services, including the likes of Netflix<\/a>, Amazon<\/a>, Apple TV+<\/a> and Disney+<\/a>, to help finance British drama production.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Netflix highlighted that the U.K. is the streamer\u2019s \u201cbiggest production hub outside of North America \u2013 and we want it to stay that way.\u201d It added a thinly veiled warning that levies or taxes would lead to price increases: \u201cIn an increasingly competitive global market, it\u2019s key to create a business environment that incentivizes rather than penalizes investment, risk taking and success. Levies diminish competitiveness and penalize audiences who ultimately bear the increased costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSince 2020, Netflix has invested billions of pounds in the U.K., worked with more than 200 producers and with 30,000 cast and crew members across the country, according to the company.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNetflix members have already paid the BBC license fee. A levy would be a double tax on them and us. It\u2019s unfair. This is a tariff on success. And our members are going to be punished,\u201d a source close to the matter told THR. \u201cMinisters have already rejected the idea of a streaming levy. The creation of a Cultural Fund raises more questions than it answers. It also begs the question: Why should audiences who choose to pay for a service be then compelled to subsidize another service for which they have already paid through the license fee. Furthermore, what determines the criteria for \u2018Britishness,\u2019 which organizations would qualify for funding, why would a fund be better placed to determine what audiences want to watch, which individuals would be expected to allocate funding, how would the funding be spent? These recommendations risk being a step backward for the U.K. creative sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tConcluded the source: \u201cThe committee\u2019s proposals do not address the core issue: the long-term financial sustainability of public service broadcasters. This is a complex matter requiring thoughtful consideration and a long-term perspective. Protectionist measures and sensationalized headlines will not provide solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Association for Commercial Broadcasters and On-Demand Services (COBA) also argued that a levy could hurt streamers\u2019 investment in Britain. \u201cEspecially in this economic climate, a levy risks impacting existing content budgets for U.K. shows, jobs, and growth, along with raising costs for businesses,\u201d said COBA executive director Adam Minns. \u201cIronically, it could actually damage public service broadcaster dramas by reducing co-production budgets at streamers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Patrick Holland, executive chairman of production giant Banijay U.K., said: \u201cWe are pleased that the committee is recognizing the need for intervention in the scripted sector, however, we aren\u2019t convinced the levy is the way forward. Banijay U.K. has long called for an increase in tax credits to support the mid-range U.K. production programming sector, which is at the most risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added: \u201cShows like Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes, Richard Gadd\u2019s new series Half Man, and Jack Thorne\u2019s new Channel 4 drama Falling required far more funding than the public service broadcasting license can provide to get into production. Both HBO and Netflix co-funded Half Man and Peaky, respectively. These types of shows, developed by brilliant British writers that speak directly to U.K. audiences, sit in the \u00a32.5 million-\u00a33.5 million ($3.2 million-$4.5 million) bracket and are at real risk of not being made going forward if, as an industry, we can\u2019t guarantee the funding they need.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAs reported, urgent action\u201d is needed \u201cto protect distinctly British content,\u201d the Culture, Media and Sport Committee<\/a>\u00a0of the House of Commons of the U.K. parliament concluded after holding an inquiry via a series of hearings.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn its final report, published on Thursday, it called on the government of Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> \u201cto ramp up support across film and high-end TV.\u201d Among its proposals are additional tax incentives to benefit independent films, support for independent cinemas, and the streaming tax.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe recommendation \u201cfor streamers, such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ and Disney+, which benefit from the creativity of British producers, to put their money where their mouth\u201d called for them to pay 5 percent of their U.K. subscriber revenue into \u201ca cultural fund to help finance drama with a specific interest to British audiences.\u201d If the industry does not voluntarily establish such a fund, administered by the BFI, within a year, the U.K. government \u201cshould introduce a statutory levy,\u201d the committee recommended<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Global streaming giants didn\u2019t mince their words on Thursday when they reacted to a call from a U.K.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[324,3543,823,77,522,451,16,15,6545],"class_list":{"0":"post-9647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-amazon","9":"tag-apple-tv","10":"tag-disney","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-international","13":"tag-netflix","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-walt-disney"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114316986885149798","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}