The Philippines’ Ministry of Finance announced that Finance Secretary Ralph Recto had met with senior Netflix officials on 20 August 2024, to discuss the bill on value-added tax for foreign digital service providers, which is currently pending enactment.
The meeting centred around a proposed 12% VAT on foreign digital service providers, which Netflix officials strongly supported.
Netflix also emphasised that this measure would level the playing field between local and international digital service providers. The streaming platform said this would help generate additional government revenues for development projects and programs for the Filipino people. Netflix also shared its eagerness for the bill’s implementation and committed to collaborating with the government to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Secretary Recto clarified the bill and assured Netflix of the government’s commitment to supporting the industry’s growth.
The proposal was initially approved by the House of Representatives in December 2022, but it was stalled in the Senate and has recently been reintroduced.
Netflix’s Indirect Tax Senior Manager Davy Chen and Public Policy Manager for Southeast Asia Shangari Kiruppalini attended the meeting.
