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| Europe |
| Germans may need licence to watch TV on computers |
| 2004-09-26 |
| Computer owners in Germany will need a TV licence in future after German TV and Radio Licensing Authorities proved PCs could be used to watch the telly. The fee will be collected whether the computer has been equipped to receive radio and television with a "TV card" or not, and will apply to all PCs with an internet connection from January 1, 2007. Most private households already pay the state fee for TV and radio, but this could become a costly factor for commercial businesses using the internet. As most offices rely on the internet, they could face a significant rise in annual costs. The authority has not decided whether the fee will be collected based on plots of land, office units, or individual PCs. The move comes days after the authority decided to raise the monthly fee by 58p pence to £11.06 from 2005. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #12 TGA, TGA>>> Yes that's true, We've gotten the letters from them. Due to the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) we have with Germany we are exempt from paying the tax. Yes, when it comes to paying/collecting taxes the German government doesn't play any games. Jackal>>> It doesn't matter, from what I've been told (please correct me TGA if I'm wrong), but it helps pay for the first 3 German channels. If you want British TV you have to pay for SKY and such. Yes, radio too! I think as long as you have either you get the tax. Kinda hard to say you don't have TV with that big 100ft Sat dish on the roof. Lol. |
| Posted by: 98zulu 2004-09-26 6:34:21 PM |
| #11 Totally unrelated, but...several years ago I was speaking to a German who could not grasp the notion of unlimited internet access for a flat monthly fee. Is there not such a thing in Germany? Or is it, God forbid, on a per Kilobyte basis? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-09-26 6:30:55 PM |
| #10 This is so bizarre. What if you only watch foreign TV. Europe is small enough that someone in Essen, say, can watch Dutch, Belgian, and maybe French shows. Do you have to pay to watch any or just those in Germany? There's a fee for radio? So when I was building Crystal sets at age 8 or so, if I had been in Germany, I would have had to get a paper route to pay the radio fee? |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-09-26 5:55:44 PM |
| #9 98zulu... those antenna buses are mostly for show. If you don't want to pay there is not much they can do actually because they have no right to enter your house if you don't let them. But if they can prove that you've been watching without paying things can get expensive. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-09-26 3:23:50 PM |
| #8 TGA...ain't that the truth. It's funny how they drive around in VW buses with all kinds of antenna sticking out like a bad Back to the Future reject. lol |
| Posted by: 98zulu 2004-09-26 3:17:00 PM |
| #7 Also known as Eeeeeeeeeeeeee rate. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-26 2:43:00 PM |
| #6 I think Tom maybe talking about the no farm left behind tax. It's important for the rural communites to have broadband access just like their city cousins even if the city cousins have to pay thru the nose to finance it. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-26 2:42:32 PM |
| #5 Tom old boy, my phone is going down. Three cell phones with bookoo minutes per month and rollover + one land line for local calls only, and my phone bill is lower today than it was five years ago. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-09-26 2:02:31 PM |
| #4 Oh yes, those guys who collect the TV fees... they will find you faster than the taxman. Move to another address and within days the TV guy rings and asks whether you pay fees already. I'm not sure if they will get away with this new regulation though. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-09-26 1:35:44 PM |
| #3 Don't laugh, Americans. Have you looked at your phone bills lately? |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-09-26 1:30:19 PM |
| #2 Papers please. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-09-26 1:25:37 PM |
| #1 beaurocrats... no surprise why Germany is dying... |
| Posted by: Anonymous6361 2004-09-26 12:00:30 PM |