Gamers living within the Chicago city limits are going to have to dig deeper into their pockets starting in September.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will force subscribers of online services to pay an extra tax for the privilege of streaming content into the city of Chicago.

An amendment to the Chicago Amusement Tax, which in the past covered things such as sporting events, carnivals, or cable television, will now encompass online subscription based services. That means subscribers to services like Netflix, Spotify, and World of Warcraft will be forced by the city to pay an extra 9% tax on top of their normal subscription fee.

Section 8 of the City of Chicago Department of Finance Amusement Tax Ruling states:

“The amusement tax applies to charges paid for the privilege to witness, view or participate in an amusement. This includes not only charges paid for the privilege to witness, view or participate in amusements in person but also charges paid for the privilege to witness, view or participate in amusements that are delivered electronically. Thus:

a. chaxges paid for the privilege of watching electronically delivered television shows, movies or videos are subject to the amusement tax, if the shows, movies or videos are delivered to a patron (i.e., customer) in the City (see paragraph 13 below);

b. charges paid for the privilege of listening to electronically delivered music are subject to the amusement tax, if the music is delivered to a customer in the City; and

c. charges paid for the privilege of participating in games, on-line or otherwise, are subject to the amusement tax if the games are delivered to a customer in the City.

The customer will normally receive the provider’s electronic communications at a television, radio, computer, tablet, cell phone or other device belonging to the customer.”

Section 10 goes on to clarify that the 9% tax is only intended for streaming services by stating that the tax does not apply to the sale of digital media, only to “rentals, accomplished by temporary download or streaming“.

The additional expansion of the Chicago Amusement Tax was a result of a reinterpretation of the code by Chicago’s Department of Finance; rather than an action taken through legislative means or a popular vote.

Despite the expanding scope of what is now covered by Chicago’s Amusement Tax, the city’s mayor Rahm Emanuel does not view it as such.

“These two rulings are consistent with the City’s current tax laws and are not an expansion of the laws”. Said a statement released by the mayor’s office in the wake of the announcement.

The new 9% tax on streaming online services will go into effect on September 1, 2015.

For more on this story, be sure to check out the original source over at  Truth In Media.

Written by The Watchman

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