A proposed $595-million tax package over 5 years from the Trudeau Government to help Canadian journalism shows some promise to help the ailing industry in Canada. Like good journalists would do, let's break down what that proposal actually offers and what kind of impact could be made.
- Non-profit journalism organizations will get a boost from “qualified donees.” They will be able to give out receipts for donations from individuals and corporations. Foundations could also be part of potential financial support.
- A refundable tax credit will go to labour costs with original content for non-profit and for-profit news organizations. The qualifiers are supposed to be sources that “produce a wide variety of news and information of interest to Canadians.” An independent panel of news industry people will define the eligibility.
- The portion that applies to news consumers is a non-refundable 15% tax credit for those who purchase a digital subscription. If a digital subscription costs $120, you would get a $18 tax credit.
The donations for non-profit journalism organizations feels like an easy call. There is no direct government money. Tax credits reduce tax bills but tax credits are used in all kinds of areas of society.
The digital subscriptions tax credit will be a boost for those who already have those subscriptions. The question will be whether 15% will be enough to get people to jump on the bandwagon. But 15% is a good place to start.
The refundable tax credit for labour costs has a few issues:
- The government money is being given directly to journalism outlets, including for-profit entities.
- The tax credit is refundable, which can lead to a tax refund depending on the size of the credit. The digital subscription tax credit is specifically non-refundable.
- The company that likely would benefit the most is Postmedia, currently controlled by U.S. hedge funds.
- Even with an independent panel, eligibility is not automatic.
Other objections are subject to interpretation. Conservatives howled as they do, not so much on principle but to score cheap political points. Their outrage feels false in that conservative outlets, the vast majority of Canadian print media, would get the vast majority of the money. Their unspoken outrage is that far-right outlets, such as Rebel Media, won't be included.
This tax credit would likely go to reward bad decisions made by large media outlets, instead of improve the research into investigative journalism.
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"Then it needs a panel that includes journalists from old and new media, startups and experiments, with different models.
"And — this is critical — the panel must include people from outside journalism. Academics who have researched the issue; citizen groups who have seen the effects of reduced coverage; advocates and community leaders.
"The question shouldn’t be what a handful of journalists with the same experiences and worldviews want. It should be how we can invest public money in ways that effectively address the most critical information challenges in our communities."
The Tyee is one of those small, independent Canadian journalism outfits. This column in The Tyee questions the wisdom of "throwing money at them (large newspaper companies) at this late date is pointless."
Canadian journalism doesn't need more of the same. A lot of communities in Canada have little to no local news coverage. Even the ones that do have an outlet likely don't have a whole lot of substance.
Some of these proposed solutions will have a minor impact. The fear is that good money will be thrown after bad money in a field desperate for help to uncover the truths in Canadian politics and society.
video credit: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah; YouTube/thetyee
