02-07-2025
Arlington Heights streaming tax could go into in effect in 2026
The village of Arlington Heights, Illinois is considering a proposal to start taxing internet streaming services.
Village officials are considering a 5% streaming tax, the same amount that is currently in place for cable franchises.
In a letter to the village board president and trustees last November, the village manager noted that over the years, "a number of our residents have chosen internet streaming services over regular cable or premium channels." The village manager noted that internet streaming still utilizes public right-of-way cable lines or repeaters to deliver their content, and that the village could generate approximately $500,000 in revenue from the tax.
The money from the streaming tax will be earmarked to cover the new full-time 5th ambulance service, which is set to be fully implemented in 2026, according to the letter. The village manager also recommended potentially implementing the tax in mid-2025 to gauge if the revenue generated by the tax will actually cover all costs of that ambulance survey.
At a recent board meeting, village officials said they have lost millions of dollars in revenue from cord cutting. The tax would apply to subscribers to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Peacock, Hulu and YouTube TV. According to the Daily Herald, subscriptions with commercials would be subject to a lower tax than subscriptions without commercials.
