BBC licence fee to be extended with ‘YouTube tax’ to force more to pay – The Independent

BBC licence fee to be extended with ‘YouTube tax’ to force more to pay  The Independent

Exclusive: A government white paper set to be published before Christmas is expected to include plans to extend the licence fee to cover YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. The government is set to unveil plans to extend the BBC licence fee to online streaming services in what is unofficially being dubbed a “YouTube tax”. A white paper on the BBC charter renewal will be published before Christmas and will include proposals on how to overhaul the current funding model to increase revenue and reflect how audiences consume content. A senior Whitehall source told The Independent the plan is to expand the licence fee to streaming platforms to prevent people dodging it by logging on to the internet via their phones, tablets or computers.

Currently, anyone who uses a television to watch content must pay the licence fee even if they do not watch the BBC. They also pay for live television on any platform but not playback or delayed television except on BBC iPlayer. Under the proposed changes it would be expanded to cover all other online providers, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube, which are currently exempt and all streaming content. It is understood any new cash raised under the