Taxed to watch tv (TV Licence)

Member Name: davey_26

Product:	TV Licence
Date:	11/10/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It doesn't break the bank...yet!

Disadvantages: An unfair, expensive, tax which raises serious questions about impartiality

I won't pull any punches with my views on tv licenses, as I think they are a scandalous extortionate tax. So why do we pay a tv licence? we pay on an annual basis a sum of over 100.00 not for the ownership of a television but the privilege of watching television. However this fee funds the BBC I am comfortable about this for three reasons, firstly because the BBC actually has 2 arms, it's corporate for profit arm and it's "public service" arm.

Secondly because it surely creates a very unhealthy relationship between the state and the broadcaster. Thirdly and just as importantly, our licence fee does not fund the other channels. Where does their income stream come from? they must attract an audience and through that audience they are then able to entice advertisers.

This leaves me in something of a state of disbelief because rightly or wrongly, protectionism has always been taught to me as a negative, something which distorts competition. Therefore it is quite bemusing that television should operate on a two tier basis where the BBC has exclusive rights to force the television viewer to pay to keep them in business.

You can pay on an annual basis for the licence or you can pay monthly however there has been recent warnings that our right to watch television will cost us more very shortly. Perhaps for those who wish not to pay a licence, they should be able to implement a system in which they can't gain access to BBC channels. This would be the fairest system and yet they know that would signal an exodus of licence holders so the tax continues indefinitely.

If I could give this a minus I would!

Summary: Why oh why must we pay this?