Streaming companies will now have to allocate 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to support the creation of Canadian content, up from 5 per cent, following a move by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Companies, such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, will be affected, and will most likely pass down these extra costs to subscribers through monthly fees, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Meantime, the CRTC is also lowering the base contribution rate for traditional broadcasters to 25 per cent, which is down from the previous rate that ranged between 30 to 45 per cent.

The CRF is now calling on Ottawa to cancel the tripling of this streaming tax, which it believes will only make life more expensive for Canadian consumers. They aren’t the only one.

Michael Geist, University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law, says “Canada, with this decision, becomes really one of the most expensive [countries] for streamers to operate in.”

The federal government says it’s “currently reviewing the CRTC decision.”