OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) said it "welcomed" the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on Thursday to hear its appeal regarding the Part II licence fee issue.
As reported by Cartt.ca, the Federal Court Trial Division ruled in December 2006 that the CRTC Part II Licence Fees collected by the federal government from broadcasters and broadcast distributors are an illegal tax. The government appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA), which ruled that the fees are valid regulatory charges and not a tax. On June 27, 2008, the CAB filed an application for leave to appeal the FCA decision to the Supreme Court, which has been granted.
The CAB feels the Part II fees are an illegal tax as they do not go toward regulating the broadcasting industry, but to the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. Private broadcasters also pay Part I fees to cover the costs of the CRTC’s operations. At stake is hundreds of millions of dollars.
In addition to the fees being deemed illegal, the CAB will seek an order declaring they are entitled to the return of all Part II fees paid by them between November 30, 1998 and November 30, 2006 inclusive. The leave to appeal application stated that the Part II licence fees amounted to $679.6 million as of 2005.
