Google has finally relented somewhat over its contentious 30% Play Store developer tax. The internet giant announced that it is lowering the toll for subscription-based apps (say, Netflix) to 15%, and ebook and music streaming services “…as low as 10%”.
Google lets up
This mimics a similar move Apple made recently regarding ‘reader’ apps on the App Store. The reason for the company’s sudden generosity, according to The Verge, is that actual content costs make up the majority of these apps’ sales, rather than in-app purchases.
While Google doesn’t go so far as to say it, there’s no doubt that this is in response to mounting pressure both from regulators and developers against the so-called ‘Play Store Tax’. When asked about this, a spokesperson told The Verge, “Google has a long history of evolving Android and Play’s model based on feedback from our developer ecosystem on what they need to be successful on Play.”
While subscription apps’ taxes are being cut by 50% across the board, music streaming and ebook services are still in Google’s hands for the most part. “As low as 10%” could still mean 29%. According to a spokesperson, those details will be hashed out between devs and Google on a case-by-case basis.
While this certainly resembles a win for developers, it’s probably still not substantial enough to quell them yet. Google and Apple have been at loggerheads with app developers for a while, most notably Epic Games, over the cuts their stores take on in-app purchases. South Korea has come down particularly hard on both brands regarding their app store billing practices. The country recently made an amendment to its Telecommunications Business Act that prevents them from forcing devs to use their proprietary billing services to run their in-app purchases.
