Advanced Television

Netflix NZ ‘unfair’ tax break

March 17, 2015

Netflix is set to receive a tax break in New Zealand. According to local reports, the streaming giant is not obligated to pay New Zealand’s goods and services tax (GST) due to it being an offshore company.

The news has prompted an outcry from Lightbox, which is a local online television service.

Andrew Pirie, a spokesman for Spark, owner of Lightbox, commented, “This is yet another example of the lack of a level playing field for digital services … Lightbox was set up as a New Zealand company, playing by New Zealand rules and paying its fair share of New Zealand tax – and we think others like Netflix New Zealand who are promoting themselves as a company selling services in New Zealand, to New Zealanders, should do the same.”

Netflix is set to launch in New Zealand next week.

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