Records from the Federal Election Commission indicate that Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) used campaign funds to cover his Netflix subscription from January to March. This is noteworthy since he has often criticized Netflix’s tax practices over the years.
Sanders has been vocal about his opposition to Netflix, claiming it fails to pay its “fair share” in taxes while hiking prices for consumers, all the while executives see their wealth grow. The senator’s campaign made a payment, classified as a “subscription,” to Netflix for $46.79 a month in January.
He noted the company saw its profits rise to a record $5.3 billion last year and avoided over $1 billion in taxes. Sanders attributed a price increase of 10.7% to inflation, which he argued took $1.35 billion out of subscribers’ pockets, even as the CEO became $200 million richer during the pandemic.
In addition, he has highlighted Netflix’s history of paying zero federal taxes, pointing out how the company has managed to lower its tax responsibilities through various corporate tax credits.
Sanders has previously remarked on social media, “Your $8.99 Netflix subscription is more than your company paid in federal income taxes (nothing) last year,” while expressing a commitment to make major corporations contribute their fair share.
Data from the Sanders campaign only goes up to March, suggesting that payments for Netflix may continue beyond this period. Attempts to reach out to his campaign for comments received no response.
Sanders has been scrutinized in the past regarding his use of campaign funds. For example, in 2023, he transferred $200,000 to the Sanders Institute, a nonprofit helmed by his family. Critics raised concerns about potential campaign finance violations, especially if the nonprofit’s activities were minimal.
Additionally, Sanders faced backlash for spending more than $550,000 on private jet travel during his “War on the Oligarchies” tour, prompting remarks about the hypocrisy of a socialist using luxury private travel while critiquing others.
It’s somewhat rare for politicians to utilize campaign funds for streaming services; over the last decade, only a handful of political committees have made payments to Netflix.
