Should we have TV Licence Fee ?

[RCuber]

Ok now the government is imposing a annual "Licence Fee" of 500 bucks. Most of you might have read it.

Now I was not surprised about this tax.. because I had heard about TV tax in UK from one of my cousin. I just checked if there is any info on the UK tax thing and was shocked

First in India.

NEW DELHI: Television viewing could soon be a more expensive affair. The government is considering imposing a recurring annual 'licence fee' of Rs 500 for each colour television set, and Rs 200 for a black & white TV, owned by consumers as a bailout measure for the cash-strapped Prasar Bharati.

Sources in the information and broadcasting ministry said imposing the licence fee on consumers is among a slew of options before the government - others include making TV manufacturers and broadcasters pay up - all or some of which could be implemented.

Part of the money raised will go into providing government pay scales and other benefits for the 38,000-odd Prasar Bharati employees. Sources said the licence fee plan alone could raise an estimated Rs 23,871 crore.

The government can, in fact, impose such a fee by invoking section 17 of the Prasar Bharati Act as recommended by the Sengupta Committee report. A final decision on the issue is expected to be taken at the Group of Ministers' meeting on Wednesday.

The GoM is also likely to consider levying a 10% licence fee on television and radio manufacturers to raise an additional sum of Rs 896 crore as recommended by the Financial Restructuring Committee in 2005.

Link


Now over to UK.

In the United Kingdom, citizens must pay a licence if they own a television set. That's right, a TV tax. For Americans, the whole idea of an annual tax to own a television borders on the absurd. However, in the UK, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a government agency that has the power to tax and enforce laws. In order to obtain funding, the BBC requires that anyone using its services must pay for them. So, if you own a TV set and live in the UK, you could conceivably turn on the BBC broadcasts, so therefore you better pay.

Link

You need a TV Licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top boxes, video or DVD recorders, computers or mobile phones to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV.

If you use a set-top box with a hi-fi system or another device that can only be used to produce sounds and can't display TV programmes, and you don't install or use any other TV receiving equipment, you don't need a TV Licence.

WTF!!!

A colour TV Licence costs £135.50 and a black and white licence costs £45.50.

£135.50 WTF!!!

Am I entitled to a concession?

In some circumstances, you may qualify for a concessionary licence. For example, if you are over 74, you can apply for a Short Term Licence, which will cover you until the month you turn 75, at this point you become entitled to a free Over 75 Licence. If you are BLIND, you can apply for a Blind Concessionary Licence at 50% of the full licence fee. And if you live in residential care, you may qualify for a licence at £7.50 per year.

Double WTF!!! Blind Concessionary Licence at 50% If he is blind... how can that person be reading that on the site!!!

I searched a lot in the site to find a answer on "Why UK citizens should pay TV Licence Fee" .. didnot find any answer... WTF!!

Link to WTF

Now what can I say. Well I can pay 500 bucks/year if it goes for prasad barathi employees as the give some very good educational channels like Gyan Dashan. Hopefully we should not have such ridiculous conditions/rules as it is the UK.

What do you guys say?

Let the fight begin

 

[prasad_den]

Prasar Bharati might be giving a few good channels, but most of the DD network is absolute BS and not worth the 500 bucks they are planning to charge...!! Most people who have a cable connection, never even turn to DD channels.. So, if the Prasar Bharati lacks funds, it'd do better by going in for cost-cutting measures like reducing the DD channels..
Secondly, thousands of people BPL also own a TV set..(remember MK giving away free colour TV sets to people BPL in TN... they'll be cursing him now.. ).. is it necessary to burden them with additional fees like this..??

BTW, what does the DD do with all the ad revenue from cricket matches..?? they are way over-staffed.. that I can say for sure..!! And reg BBC, the 135 pound fee.. is it annual or a one-time fee??

 

[RCuber]

^^ Point noted .

And regarding BBC ... its annual

 

[infra_red_dude]

one simple thot: most of the people who watch DD are unable to pay the licence fee (usually haf a donated tv) and poeple who are capable of paying the fee do not watch DD!!!!

so in the end, the licence fee seems simply absurd. not fit to be levied on anybody in the country!!!!

 

[indian_samosa]

^^^^ ....LOL LOL .......^^^^

its like DD going pay channel way !!! ...
Man its just some more money down the ministers pocket !!...Ba****ds !!

If so much money is fed down to DD ...they better go High Definition !!!

I dont know if you guys have noticed it but ...if you compare the look of serials which are shown on DD ....they look much different and faded as compared to premium cable channels like star/zee/sony why is it so ??

 

[Sukhdeep Singh]

End of topic i guess, there was a official Press release yesterday and Govt has "no" plans of this. It was just a rumour

 

[RCuber]

^^ Great News , Can you please post the content or the link .

 

[Sukhdeep Singh]

^^ Great News , Can you please post the content or the link .

I dont have link online. It was in Newspaper today..Business Page of Hindustan times i guess

 

[Josan]

Hey Who gonna watch dd Sports when You have Ten ,ESPN,Star Sports,and same is for the dd news and other dd channels ,simple if the govt. want 500 for these channels, they dont. worth it ,DD channels are years behind the other private channels ,and and there is no hope for any improvement ,the govt should make some other excuse for this money.

 

[cynosure]

@samosa: What whould DD show in HD??? They dont have any decent programs. AFAIK the only decent channel, DD metro, was taken off air some time back. And DD1 sucks big time, at least for people like me. (Now please dont talk about sanskriti and s#it like that, I only watch HBO, *movies, Discovery and NatGeo)

 

[nileshgr]

These cable operators are already charging us 150-350 bucks a month and now this govt. sh1t. sh1t

 

[indian_samosa]

@samosa: What whould DD show in HD??? They dont have any decent programs. AFAIK the only decent channel, DD metro, was taken off air some time back. And DD1 sucks big time, at least for people like me. (Now please dont talk about sanskriti and s#it like that, I only watch HBO, *movies, Discovery and NatGeo)

hahaa....man i was just being sarcastic!! ....DD lacks programming as well as funding(well i m not sure about that one)It might be that they still want to remain an "ancient" channel.I mean just look at the crappy channels(non DD) coming up every few months ...and they can kick any of the DD channels in the balls.The channels which I watch *same as the one you mentioned* ....are corporate in nature.I mean they strive to outperform themselves as well as their competitors each and every day.Each channel will go and do its best to get the maximum number of audience.But with DD ....."Kisko Padi hai".I think the mentality behind DD people will be ...... "if only people in the villages will see DD ....then why the F**K shall we ramp up our programming ...let it continue for another 2-3 decades...who cares" attitude.

I really dont have to say anything to a guy like you who sees Discovery/NatGeo. Just look at their documentaries ..mind blowing.Even their oldest docu's will be a pleasure to watch.Later when the credits roll up and you get to see something like ©MCM**** (after converting it to english it turns out to be shot in 80's or 90's) then one realizes "my god I was watching such a old doc"....and yet it was amazing.

DD docs will have one single camera,one light source preferably the sun or the street lamp .....what else to say man!!!!

To sum up my long blah blah ...I just have to say "If you want to witness time travel -- Watch DD" ....... because while watching it, you will start to believe you have been sent back many years in time.Its CRAP

 

[netguy]

@samosa::
Thats correct friend,
they really made me "time travel"
recently when I was changing the channel ........

I accidentally opened the regional channel of DD and saw a program which used to get broadcasted when I was in 6 th grade (now I passed my Degree)

Guess what I watched that Prog for a while and I can clearly know it was a VHS tape or converted to CD/DVD

They lack stuff......really.......!

and coming to other DD channels like DD Loksabha Rajyasabha they were made complsory to be get carried by the operators...........how many of u get these.......?

 

[cynosure]

^^ I get rajyasabha.
And its a great entertainer. Just watch the dogfight and your time will pass just like that

 

[netguy]

^^ I get rajyasabha.
And its a great entertainer. Just watch the dogfight and your time will pass just like that

Excuse me sir!
we get Rajyasabha on air only when we have any meeting
other wise it show only some delay signal with colored stripes and some nonsense sound in back ground......

and any ways why do you wait such a long time for their transmission
y dont u go for NGC or discover or Animal Planet

 

[pimpom]

End of topic i guess, there was a official Press release yesterday and Govt has "no" plans of this. It was just a rumour

OK, so it was just a rumour. But I'm old enough to remember when there was an annual fee for owning a TV and for a radio. IIRC, the annual fee for a TV was Rs.45 and 15 for a radio. Those figures may sound more reasonable now, but they were in an age when the buying power of a rupee was much higher and incomes were much lower.

In those days, nearly all TVs in Indian homes were B&W. A 20-inch B&W set cost Rs.4000-5000, which was much more than the monthly income of many middle-class families.

The govt stopped levying those fees in the mid-eighties, partly in the spirit of liberalisation, but I think it was more because they were spending more money maintaining the collection infrastructure than they were collecting !

They first stopped levying fees on single-band (MW-only) radios, then on all radios. I don't remember if they stopped TV license fees at the same time as radios or if that came a bit later.

 

[RCuber]

We pay taxes for every stuff we buy including TV .... Happy to see it was just a rumor

 

[gaurav_indian]

Yeh DD dekhta kaun hai?Those who have cables they dont switch to DD.Infact when they change the channels and see DD there they think "arey yeh channel abhi bhi aata hai".I switch to DD only when i have to watch a cricket match,usmein bhi maja nahi aata.

 

[netguy]

are bhai..!
request mods to close this.....no more DD fight needed.........we dont watch DD and we pay Tax at first we buy TV...
Thats all folks............we end the topic here!!!1

 

[RCuber]

Yea Mods Please Lock the thread.