REGINA — The drama over the city’s amusement tax on movie theatre tickets seems to have reached a conclusion at Regina City Hall Wednesday.
At their regular meeting, council voted in favour of an amended motion that would see the amusement tax removed on movie theatres completely as of Jan. 1, 2024.
The main motion had also called for the reduction of the amusement tax on theatres from 10 down to five per cent, a move to counteract the imposition of the six per cent provincial sales tax on theatres on Oct. 1. This was in line with the recommendation that had already been passed at Executive Committee the previous week.
The resolutions to reduce the amusement tax to five per cent this October, and to eliminate it entirely on Jan. 1, 2024, passed at council.
But the votes were not unanimous, and in one final piece of drama, the bylaw which would have allowed the changes to take effect Oct. 1 did not get through in three readings.
Councillor Bob Hawkins voted against unanimous consent for third reading, meaning it will come back to council Oct. 12 for final passage. It is at that time that the five per cent reduction will take effect.
The indication from the city is that the reason full removal will wait until Jan. 1, 2024 is to give administration time to adjust to the change. Regina administration is currently in the budget process for 2023.
It also will give time for the city to consider whether they might be able to raise revenue on other event tickets. Mayor Sandra Masters told reporters after the meeting that administration would touch base with Tourism Regina to see if that would be a potential funding source. Masters said the city may “look at expanding (the amusement tax) to understand whether it is a funding source for tourism and events.”
Council’s decision to ultimately bring an end to the amusement tax on movie cinema tickets came after continuing pressure and feedback from movie cinema owners, who had pointed out Regina would be the highest-taxed jurisdiction in North America for movie tickets.
Even with the reduction to five per cent, Regina moviegoers would be paying 16 per cent in federal, provincial and municipal taxes on movie tickets — the highest on the continent.
Another issue raised was that the amusement tax only singled out movie theatres, with just three cinema complexes in Regina impacted. The tax had been removed from other events and venues over several years.
Also a backdrop of the discussion was the closure of Rainbow Cinemas at the Golden Mile Shopping Centre on Albert Street, reducing the number of cinema screens in the city. The Rainbow screened their final movies last Sunday.
Council ultimately was swayed by arguments from cinema owners who appeared before Executive Committee and city council during the past couple of weeks. Their main argument was that the tax would deter customers from going to the theatres, which were under pressure from competition from streaming services.
On Wednesday, Michael Paris of the Movie Theatre Association of Canada appeared by phone at council, and he repeated his call to have the tax removed.
“Every incremental cost impacts the ability of people crossing the threshold into the theatre,” Paris said. “We need to remain a competitive environment to continue to get film with our partners in distribution, but at the end of the day, we need people to be in our locations ... This tax matters, it matters a great deal, and I do believe in the history of my industry, this kind of thing has never mattered more.”
