Industry Unites to Call-Out the DST 

IAB Canada continues its advocacy regarding the significant concerns raised by the Digital Services Tax (DST) imposed on the digital advertising industry. The industry at large, stands united against the targeted tax with associations including ACA, CMA, CMDC and ICA speaking out to the Minister of Finance Office in an urgent appeal to revoke the tax or at a minimum, the retroactivity portion. IAB Canada applauds a recent CMA letter to Minister Freeland expressing particular concern over DST’s disproportionate burden on SMEs, which rely on digital advertising to compete in a global marketplace. We stand together on this dire issue. 

It is our hope that this unified voice brings action as we approach the elections in the US and face an uncertain backlash from the US Trade Board. 

IAB Canada’s Updates on DST Action 

Last week, IAB Canada secured a meeting with Minister Freeland’s office to further articulate the industry’s concerns. During this meeting, we outlined the catastrophic fall-out and highlighted the risks of almost guaranteed retaliatory measures from the U.S., which could exacerbate the challenges for Canadian businesses. 

IAB Canada’s outputs also include: 

  • Formal Communication with the Government – IAB Canada submitted a letter to the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, followed by a direct email seeking an urgent response. Our concerns are centered on the retroactivity of DST and the pass-through costs, which are distorting pricing transparency in the advertising market. We emphasized the need to remove the retroactive provision to avoid setting a dangerous precedent in tax law. 
  • Infographic illustrating the fall-out of the DST – this was developed as a communcations piece to government and industry to better understand the consequences of the bill. 
  • Call for Tools to Mitigate Media Pricing Obfuscation – IAB Canada has proposed the creation of a public registry of businesses impacted by the DST to ensure greater transparency and to help agencies and advertisers distinguish between genuine market conditions and inflated costs due to the tax.