Zim govt to collect VAT from Netflix subscription fees

In a move that shouldn’t be all too surprising the Zimbabwean government will be collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) from Netflix subscriptions.

Some tax changes impact your Netflix membership price.

We hope you are enjoying your Netflix membership. We are writing to let you know about an upcoming change.

Starting March 5, 2021, a value-added tax (VAT) will be included in your Netflix price. Your monthly price including tax will be US$8.99

You’ll always have something new to watch on Netflix — we add great TV shows and movies every week. 

We love bringing you the very best in entertainment, but you always have the option to cancel your membership at netflix.com/Cancel

We’re here to help if you need it. Visit the Help Center for answers to some common questions or contact us.

–The Netflix Team

Seeing as the baseline package in Zimbabwe costs US$7.99, this means the government will be netting US$1.00 in VAT.

Déjà vu

Earlier on I said that this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise because (and firstly) Mthuli Ncube mentioned adding VAT to digital services and platforms in the 2019 National Budget Statement. And in August last year that came full circle when Facebook announced that it will be charging VAT for Ads in Zimbabwe.

VAT now extending to Netflix means that the govt is making significant progress with adding the charge to online services and platforms.

I for one thought that VAT for international platforms and services was going to hug close to things like Ad services and the likes. I certainly didn’t expect Netflix to be the next one on the list. Well, not for a little while.

All that being said the tax won’t affect Netflix in any way. VAT is charged to the ordinary Zimbabwean and we made a video about it when Facebook announced that it will be adding VAT to Ad charges. You can check that out in the link below:

Here is how Facebook VAT will work in Zimbabwe