In 2000, the Tax on Split-Run Periodicals under the Canadian federal Excise Tax Act was repealed.

In its inception in 1995 the taxation of split-run magazines, under the Excise Tax Act, was meant to protect the national periodical industry by keeping this country's advertising dollars invested in Canadian publications. A "split-run" is a foreign-owned (usually from the U.S.) magazine that prints a second edition of a magazine issue in Canada, in order, to qualify for treatment as "Canadian." The act stated that "there shall be imposed, levied and collected, in respect of each split-run edition of a periodical, a tax equal to 80 per cent of the value of all the advertisements in the edition."

The U.S. Government was concerned about the "protectionist" policies adopted by the Canadian government. It asks the World Trade Organization (WTO) to adjudicate on the fairness of Canada's split-run regulation according to the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades (GATT). In two separate rulings the WTO found the Canadian legislation to be in conflict with GATT rules. Canada was given six months to remove its legislation.

In 1999 the Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act was enacted as new legislation to protect the Canadian magazine industry and in 2000 the taxation of split-run advertising under the Excise Tax Act was eliminated.