Posted on 12/17/2018 8:12:57 AM PST by therightliveswithus
Chicago has won a legal battle allowing its wasteful “amusement tax” to be levied on everyday people. Residents who enjoy gaming will now have to pay a 9 percent tax for streaming services they buy through Playstation. They also have to pay this 9 percent tax on other streaming services for entertainment like Netflix, Spotify, and Hulu. The amusement tax is one of multiple examples of government using its ability to pick the pockets of the populace to select winners and losers in the market while paying its bills with money that citizens often do not realize they are spending.
The Windy City originally passed its amusement tax in 2015, not through the democratic process, mind you, but through backdoor bureaucratic means. Elected officials on the Chicago City Council never touched the proposal. Instead, it was passed by diktat through the Chicago Finance Department. Although a higher court may find the tax unconstitutional in the future, it was recently upheld by the Circuit Court of Cook County.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
I believe that was thrown out by a California court.
Is this over and above the Chicago sales tax? Or is it the sales tax applied to amusement services? Ohio’s sales tax is on just about everything other than groceries and prescription drugs. If I had Netflix I would be hit for 7.5%.
It’s one of a very few issues that has the potential to turn Millenials against Democrats.
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So, taxmakers, I mean lawmakers, no longer have to justify a reason for a tax...
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When was the last time THAT antiquated idea was brought up??
O’Care, and much of any/all govt, is now postulated on the belief that ‘govt’s ability to tax’.
Never is the latter question of that statement even uttered: for what/by what authority??
Once the welfare flood-gates were opened (w/ some whimpering from the (R)N(C), but not too much), the 4th/5th & 13th finally gave up the ghost.
Elections do have consequences. Continue electing corrupt “democrats” continue paying more taxes. Don’t be an idiot. Just say NO to democrats.
Thank you for the information..
Mustn’t forget those fine Kentucky bourbons.
... upheld by the district court of Crook county. There fixed it.
Is it JUST through playstation?
If you read the article, it’s a tax on any streaming internet services. Avoiding Netflix does not avoid the tax.
In our good city, the latest technique to extract money from citizens is raising the monthly minimums on utility services and adding monthly charges for services that we are not actually provided. We now pay $60 a month for “storm drainage” even though there are no storm drains near our home and water from the roads and neighbors runs onto our property. We pay $25 a month for water even though our usage charge is around $2: $25 a month for sewer + $5 a month for usage based on our $2 a month average water usage. We pay $35 a month for the smallest garbage can available which is madatory. Ironically, the most reasonable minimum is for electricity, which is around $20 a month with any power we use in top of that. So our minimum charges to the city with no usage whatsoever is now approximately $165 a month. Our actual usage charges are generally a fraction of this.
All of these fees have more than quadrupled in the last few years, several times the rate of infation. They are not considered taxes, and were not voted on by people or politicians. They have been assessed by government bean counters who have demonstrated clearly that these “fees” will continue to increase at whatever amount they decide.
It was ditched after the FCC issued a ruling that texts were an information service (not taxable) and not a taxable communications service.
I only watch Japanese anime now, because 100% of the stuff that comes from Western sources insults my intelligence.
As to the Netflix tax they will have the Netflix people collect it for them and pass it on, minus a ‘cut’ to make it acceptable to Netflix. Governments are corrupt. Corrupt governments become tyrannical.
I was talking to a friend in the industry recently. He says that Netflix has two problems. One is that the studios that once licensed their content to them (and Amazon) are taking it away, with plans to start their own streaming services (Disney and Warner Bros. are the two main ones). That leaves Netflix trying to make up the difference by creating their own content, or buying content from overseas. That’s raising their costs, while they’re finding resistance to raising their prices. So they’re piling on debt, which is the second problem. They currently owe something like $20 billion. The way out of this trap is to sell out/merge with someone else who wants an off-the-shelf streaming service. What my friend was saying was that the most likely partner for Netflix, the big company that wants to get into the video streaming business to compete with Amazon and Google (who are creating a YouTube subscription service), is Apple.
I read the FCC knocked down California’s plans to tax text messages.
I didn't think any State taxed Social Security. I live in New York State, and they don't. I pay Federal tax on it, but that's all.
Yeah the FCC issued a ruling Dec 12 and then the Cal PUC said it can’t be done under the FCC ruling.
I believe they call it original content, but many of the programs they label as that are produced in conjunction with other production companies, and Netflix has the international distribution rights. I know a lot of the British programs they claim are original content are produced in conjunction with the BBC and other British networks. A lot of the British programs they eventually air, I've already downloaded from British torrent sites, and watched, because they air in the UK first, then go to Netflix.
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