What is a ‘YouTube tax’ and how would it work? – The Independent

What is a ‘YouTube tax’ and how would it work?  The Independent

The Independent revealed on Thursday that the government is set to unveil plans to extend the licence fee Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Radical changes to the licence fee planned by the government would see it covering streaming platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video to reflect how contemporary audiences consume content. The Independent revealed on Thursday that the government is set to unveil plans to extend the licence fee to the streaming services, in what is unofficially being dubbed a “YouTube tax”, as part of proposals on how to overhaul the current funding model to increase revenue.

A senior Whitehall source told The Independent the plan is to expand the licence fee so that it applies to streaming platforms, with the aim of preventing people avoiding paying it by watching content on the internet via their phones, tablets or computers. The new arrangements have been dubbed the YouTube tax because the site is by far the biggest online video platform in the UK, with around 55 million users with 79 per cent penetration in the British market. The source explained that the move was “because people are able to use them to avoid paying currently”. They added: “It’s not fair that people are essentially