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The streaming war has intensified, with Netflix Australia announcing that it would not be charging users from Australia and New Zealand GST to use the service, effectively giving it the leg up against competing streaming services.
A spokesperson for the company has commented on the issue, explaining that Netflix is exempt from charging GST, as it’s "not a local entity".
The Netflix Australia spokesperson went on to say that discussions have occurred in both Australia and New Zealand to change the law to allow non-local entities to collect GST, saying that it’s “something to look at in the future”.
As Netflix is exempt from paying GST, we’re hoping to see that reflected in the service’s as-yet unannounced monthly subscription fee.
Netflix’s rivals aren’t happy
Quickflix founder Stephen Langsford is more than peeved about the news, understandably saying that it’s odd that Quickflix has to pay GST and Netflix doesn’t, and that "most Australians would expect Netflix to pay their fair share of tax," though we’d also assume that most Australians would be happier about having to pay less for Netflix.
While Presto did not comment on the Netflix matter, a spokesperson for the company instead stated that the company “fully complies with its GST obligations” and that it will keep doing so “for the life of our business.”
A spokesperson for the New Zealand-based internet TV service Lightbox called the news “an example of the lack of a level-playing field,” stating that "Lightbox has been set up as a New Zealand-based company, working under New Zealand rules and paying New Zealand tax and we think other companies should be doing the same," which doesn’t really apply to Netflix, if we’re being honest.
The streaming service Stan did not offer any comments on the matter.
- Which streaming service will win the war? Check out our Netflix vs Presto vs Stan vs Quickflix battle royale.
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Stan Movies Quickflix is the leading movie and TV streaming service in Australia and New Zealand with a large catalogue of movies and TV shows to stream direct to smart TV’s, game consoles, Blue-ray players, desktops, laptops, tablets, Smartphone’s and other connected devices. US internet TV and movie streaming giant Netflix will reportedly launch in Australia like the American set-up, the Australian version of Netflix is likely to offer a three-tier subscription model and will focus on both premium movie and TV content.
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