Florida Netflix subscribers will see new charge on monthly bill starting mid-February
MIAMI — Florida Netflix users will soon new a new charge on their monthly bills starting mid-February.
According to CBS News' Tampa Bay affiliate WTSP, the streaming giant emailed users this week to alert them about an additional "state service tax." The tax — specifically Florida's communication services tax (CST) — applies to sales including cable and satellite television, video and music streaming, mobile services and the like, WTSP reported.
"We hope you're enjoying everything Netflix has to offer. Starting on February 15, 2024, additional state services tax will be applied to your monthly subscription. You can read more about how taxes affect your Netflix membership here," the email reportedly read.
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, companies are expected to itemize and separately list state taxes on customers' bills, where they "may not absorb or relieve the customer of all or any part of the communications services tax."
The total rate for Florida's CST is 7.44%, the agency stated, which is comprised of 4.92% CST plus an additional 2.52% of gross receipts taxes.
"We've notified our members in Florida that they will start to see state services tax applied to their monthly bill beginning February 15," a Netflix spokesperson told WTSP. "Netflix subscriptions in Florida are subject to both local and state tax as part of the Florida Communications Services Tax."
However, the streaming giant didn't explain why the charge is going into effect now.
The new tax comes after Netflix announced last fall it was raising the price of its most expensive subscription tier by 10% to $23/month, while its lowest ad-free tier went up to $12/month. Currently, it's cheapest subscription plan starts at $7/month with ads. The aforementioned prices do not include sales tax.