German media tax official « More shameless remarks by Larko

German media tax official

Friday, October 20, 2006 at 0:46 | In Germany, Media, absurd, computer, information, internet | 11 Comments
Tags: tv license fee

It is official now that German Internet users have to pay a media tax for their computer as from 1st January 2007 unless they already pay the compulsory bradcasting license fee. Heise online writes that the premiers of the German provinces took a formal decision about the much disputed media tax today. The extra cost for being hooked up to the Web is 5,52 € a month.

The broadcasting fee is used for financing the public radio and television services operated by the German provinces. An analogy of imposing the broadcasting fee to web users regardless of their possession of a television set or radio receiver would be to make it compulsory to buy a bus ticket if you ride on a taxi. After all, you could have used the bus so it would be only fair that you help out to finance the bus services, right?

Farlion, for one, does not think so. He takes this latest absurdity as a final prove that German politicians are living in a World of their own which has little common with the actual everyday life of citizens:

Unsere Politiker sind ein Haufen schlappschwänziger Nullnummern, denen es nur noch um den eigenen Machterhalt geht, damit sie es sich in den bequemen und gut bezahlten Sesseln richtig gut gehen lassen können und auch weiterhin ihre Unfähigkeit in Designerklamotten zur Schau tragen können.

Ich habe die Schnauze voll von den etablierten Parteien. Ab heute scheiße ich einen dicken Haufen auf die Maßanzug tragenden Politbonzen.

As late as yesterday, some premiers signaled that they would prefer the broadcasting license fee to be replaced by a general household tax that everybody would pay regardless of gizmos and gadgets in their possession. That would no doubt be convenient for the authorities since it would generate more revenue and they would not have to pay the cost of inspectors knocking on the doors and asking if there is a telly, radio or computer in the house. Then again, it would not be much different from paying the cost of public broadcasting from the government’s general budget funds.

BooCompany finds that the proposed household tax is a manifestation of an exceptionally cynical sense of humour:

Dass Niedersachsens Wulff erwägt, die öffentlich-rechtlichen Anstalten, mit der Ausarbeitung einer Haushaltsabgabe zu ihren eigenen Gunsten zu beauftragen, zeigt eine Art von Humor, die durch beste Zyniker nicht übertroffen werden kann.

The new media tax in Germany is no doubt a step in the direction of limiting access to free information. The politicians have a hard time accepting and understanding that people no longer depend on broadcasters (public or private) in acquiring news and current information or entertainment, for that matter. Nevertheless, Germany has so far not gone as far as Iran which has banned web connections faster than 128 kb/s to stop access to foreign sources.

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JFTR: private broadcasters will not receive any of this money. It’ll be for public broatcasters only.

Comment by Dominik Boecker — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
I thought I made that point clear, Dominik.

Comment by Larko — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
[...] Mehr zum Thema bei Larko. [...]

Pingback by RA-Blog » Blog Archive » GEZ für PCs beschlossen — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
Soory, i’m tired..

I just wanted to make it so explicit, that no doubt at all arises…

Comment by Dominik Boecker — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
If the device-tax would continue it would certainly be expanded to include telephones. One *could* listen to radio programs via telephones, so every telephone would be a ‘device to receive broadcasts’ (Rundfunkempfangsgerät) so almost everyone would have to pay the GEZ-tax (whis is still supposed to be paid to get something in exchange and therefor not a tax)

Comment by Andre Heinrichs — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
Sure, Dominik, it is a good point to make. I mentioned the private broadcasters in the context because they are not relevant (just as the public broadcasters no longer are) for our access to balanced information since everybody now can choose their own sources of info. But you are absolutely right to point out that the GEZ is being used to finance public broadcasters while private broadcasting is commercially driven.

Comment by Larko — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
Andre, as the analogue TV transmissions here are going to be discontinued next year, the local shops are selling plug ins to PC (for around 50-60 €) which would act as tuners receiving terrestrial digital TV transmission. I would understand imposing a license fee for those devices since they practically turn a computer into a TV but imposing it to my old junk pile with 80 MB of memory and a Linux currently running on a CD would be a clear overkill.

Then again, public service broadcasting could just as well be financed by the government’s budget funds (i.e. tax money). It would at least save a whole lot of administrative (bureaucratic) costs and maybe even leave some more peanuts for the broadcasters.

Comment by Larko — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
Well, the reason why german public broadcasts are not financed via tax-money is that that would make broadcasts dependent on politicians. You can clearly see how independent public broadcasting in germany is if you look at who decided that the PC-tax should be imposed. And that doesn’t mention the many politicians that are on boards overseeing public radio/tv. It’s just SNAFU, I guess.

Comment by Andre Heinrichs — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
I do not honestly think a government funding would increase their dependence in practical terms. It would be a theoretical change. Just as the notion that a parliament executes the will of the people is a nice theoretical phrase.

But more importantly, neither politicians nor broadcasters seem to understand that the consept of fixed schedule broadcasts is about to be aged out. Who needs television anyway?

Comment by Larko — Friday, October 20, 2006 #
[...] well only the government, I feel fine still, .. I posted (in german) about the GEZ earlier, here’s an english tax, uhm text to tell you what the GEZ is.. you will laugh when you hear that.. [...]

Pingback by SEQUENCER .DE - Synthesizer Database - Electronic Music - by MoogulatoR » News Archive » Germans are really strange.. — Tuesday, October 24, 2006 #
[...] have a computer modern receiving device for public broadcasts in Germany you would have to pay a public broadcasting fee of 5,52 € a month provided that your computer modern receiving device for public broadcasts can [...]

Pingback by GEZ Newspeak « More shameless remarks by Larko — Saturday, August 25, 2007 #