Switzerland's residents vote for 'Netflix Tax'
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Already 4% of the annual profits of Swiss broadcasters is devoted to the local movie industry; however, the tax was not imposed on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney, and other streaming platforms.
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58.42 percent of residents supported the initiative on the tax, while 41.58 percent opposed it (photo credit: muvi.com)
The majority of the Swiss on Sunday voted for a "Netflix Tax", which requires streaming services, like Netflix, to allocate 4% of their annual revenue to support the Swiss movie industry and increase funding for European border agency Frontex in a referendum.
58.42 percent of residents supported the initiative on the tax, while 41.58 percent opposed it.
Already 4 percent of the annual profits of Swiss broadcasters is devoted to the local movie industry; however, the tax was not imposed on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney, and other streaming platforms. The Swiss government had earlier advised the initiative be passed, but those who opposed the tax seemed to be concerned over a possible rise in subscription prices.
A 71.48 percent to 28.52 percent vote supported the initiative on the increased annual contribution to Frontex.
After the Swiss National Council approved increasing financial support to Frontex to $61 million from $24 million, the Migrant Solidarity Network along with other migrant support organizations in the country initiated the referendum on funding soon.
The Green Party, The Social Democrats, and other left-wing parties in Switzerland supported the initiative to hold the referendum. The government warned voters that if the funding is rejected, Switzerland could be expelled from the Schengen area.
Netflix's share price crashed last month after losing subscribers for the first time in 10 years, with forecasts expecting it to lose even more in the upcoming months.
Following the news that it had lost 200,000 subscribers at the start of the year, the streaming giant's price shares dropped by 20 percent. The number is expected to grow, with fears of losing 2 million subscribers in the current quarter, as opposed to Wall Street projections of the company adding 2.5 million subscribers.
