Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill into law that will bar local governments from imposing a tax to stream popular providers like Netflix and Peacock. Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, said his bill prevents cities and counties from applying a cable franchise fee to your streaming bill.
Keathley said that local governments have noticed more people are streaming rather than using traditional cable.
“You know, I look at that situation as a big problem,” he said. “It’s based on them having infrastructure that they put into the right of way. Well, streaming services don’t have any infrastructure in the right of way. They’re just using the existing internet lines that are already in there.”
In making the case for this to become law, Keathley argued that residents would essentially be paying a tax to use your own property.
“I think there’s a fundamental issue with the idea that the cities should be collecting taxes off of infrastructure in the right of way,” he explained. “They’re correct, they have a right of way. What they’re essentially saying is that’s our land that you’re using. That’s not true.”
Keathley defines a right of way as the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road.
Proud to see HB 2057 (prohibiting taxes on streaming services) and SB 756 (senior property tax expansion/fix) signed into law today. Thank you @GovParsonMO and @TonyLuetkemeyer. Great laws to protect MO taxpayers and consumers. #moleg #mogov #mosen pic.twitter.com/7FS0phAZDn
— Ben Keathley (@benKeath) July 9, 2024
He argued that Netflix, for example, delivers its service via an already existing internet line rather than installing a local cable box that also streams.
Had Parson not signed his bill into law, Keathley said that local governments would have had to win a lawsuit first to levy the cable franchise tax onto streaming services.
“What the cities are essentially doing is saying that the legislature, you know, decades ago while the cities put the cable franchise fee, they intended to include services like Netflix, Hulu, and all your streaming, Disney Plus all of that,” Keathley said. “I think it’s really difficult to make that case.”
Some local governments oppose the bill because it would hinder their ability to manage public rights-of-way.
It’s set to become law at the end of August.
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