Pennsylvania Binge-Watchers Now Have to Pay a Netflix Tax

If you’re a resident of Pennsylvania, the price of your Netflix subscription just got a little higher. As CBS Pittsburgh reports, the state’s six percent sales tax has officially been expanded to include digital downloads and subscription streaming services.

As part of the new provision, which was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf, Netflix and Hulu are no longer exempt from taxation. Other digital properties including music, e-books, apps, and mobile games are now also subject to the law.

With the extension of the tax, legislators are hoping to make up for the $1.3 billion hole in the state’s new budget. Pennsylvania isn’t the first state to implement such a tax to bring in revenue. Michigan, Vermont, Alabama, and Idaho have all made similar attempts in the past, but in each case the tax was either rescinded before anyone had to pay it or abolished shortly after it launched. If the law sticks this time around, Pennsylvanian Netflix users will have one more excuse to mooch off their out-of-state friend’s subscription.

[h/t CBS Pittsburgh]

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