‘A hangover from the old super-profits tax of the past’: Australian TV stations thrown $50 million lifeline
Australia’s free-to-air TV stations will be saved a combined $50.3 million in the next financial year as the government announces a one-year suspension of the “archaic” Commercial Broadcasting Tax – a fee the stations say is a hangover from outdated regulatory reforms.
The Commercial Broadcasting Tax is levied on transmitter licences associated with commercial broadcasting licences, and was introduced in 2017, before the influx of digital platforms and global streaming services into the local market.
Free TV, which represents Nine, Seven, and Ten welcomed the on-year suspension, which comes into effect on July 1, 2025, saying the tax is “out of step with comparable jurisdictions”, and “no longer justifiable, given the changing competitive landscape and public policy benefits of a sustainable local television sector”.
