Netflix says it is ready to collect GST

We’ve been collecting and returning QST for several months. We do the same in Saskatchewan. On the day we are required to collect and return GST, we will do soNetflix Canada public policy director Stephan Cardin reassured, in an interview with cultural columnist Kathryn Reischer, of the show 15-18.

This tax is paid by consumers. For us, this was never a problem, although, unfortunately, there were still perceptions that our agreement with the government […] It would allow us to avoid GST, but it never was. About this, there is no real controversy, He insisted.

Critical Agreement

In 2017, then-Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Jolly announced a 500 million 5-year deal with Netflix, which was immediately criticized for Ottawa’s refusal to collect taxes – the Goods and Services Tax (GST), (QST) and HST – on services. American giant

Secretary Jolie and Justin Trudeau’s government had to defend the agreement by determining that there was no link between the Netflix commitment and the tax credit granted to the American giant.

This was what Stephan Cardan repeated in Kathryn Reischer’s microphone. They weren’t negotiations at all, negotiations aimed at avoiding taxes in one form or another.

However, the agreement remained confidential, as stipulated in the Canadian Investment Act.

Netflix is ​​expanding its presence in the country

At a time when digital broadcasting channels are waging a war and seizing the rights of popular soap operas such as the deskAnd the friends And the The Big Bang Theory, Netflix says it wants to further invest in Canadian television and cinema.

The company announced last week that it had already invested the $ 500 million stipulated in the 2017 agreement, in just two years, instead of five. The director of public policy for Netflix Canada confirmed Monday that the company will continue to invest in the country.

For us, the 500 million has always been the minimum, and Canada remains among our three largest producing regions in the world, even as Canada’s production commitments increase year after year.Stefan Cardin said.

Netflix also announced last week that it had acquired the rights to broadcast the first season of the Quebec series. can you hear me?. Netflix will also co-finance the second season, “Which remains first and foremost a Télé-Québec production”, which will air in January. It will also be available on Netflix, as well as on Tou.tv Extra and Club illico in September 2020.

I dare hope that we can follow up with other similar ads more regularlyStefan Cardin said. It did not close the door to “100% Netflix” production in Quebec, but did not announce any new projects or investments in this regard.

With information from Kathryn Richer