With the awards season behind us, many Vermonters are looking forward to catching up on this year’s top winners by viewing critically acclaimed films from the comfort of their own homes. But if the Vermont state Legislature has its way, it’ll come with an additional cost.
Just last month, the Vermont State Senate passed SB.181, legislation that would slap video streaming service providers with a 5% tax. The idea is to have the new revenue help fund, in part, community access television. While these community stations provide a laudable public service, this approach is fundamentally flawed.
Currently, fees to support public television programming are paid by cable providers and passed through to customers. If policymakers opt to apply the same levy to streaming services, Vermonters who have both cable and streaming services will be forced to pay multiple times for the same service. And, for those Vermonters who have cut the cord and rely solely on streaming services for their viewing pleasure, they will not only be paying to support programming they likely cannot access, but they will also see the tax on their services nearly double. Subscribers already pay the state’s 6% sales tax on their streaming services. A new 5% levy would make the state’s effective 11% rate the highest in the nation. At a time of record-high inflation, policymakers should not be looking to take more from the pocketbooks of budget-conscious hardworking families. Nor should they discourage innovation that provides services like streaming music, digital books, games, apps, esports, virtual and augmented reality, and more, from doing business in our state. With the House Committee on Environment and Energy set to take up the bill, TechNet hopes common sense prevails and members of the Vermont State House reject SB.181.
Chris Gilrein, of Boston, oversees TechNet’s state advocacy for New England and New York.
This commentary was first published in the Time Argus.