Televison License

[Geezah]

As I sit here at work and listen to Capital Radio, they keep on playing commercials for TV License's(and the how they know if you don't have one) and boy that is one thing I do not miss, just like the Poll Tax(which I think has been replaced again by the Council Tax).
For those of you that do not know what these are, the TV License is something you must have in GB to watch television and the Poll Tax replaced the Council Tax which in a way was basically a tax that allowed you to vote.
That's why I love America, the land of the free and that's why Team Euro-Wussie will never understand our way of thinking.

P.S. Don't forget Road Tax or the MOT :(


BBC Television License

The BBC television license is a UK anachronism which would bemuse the citizens of most countries of the world. The BBC is State television, but State television which is run by an elite nebulous clique rather than directly by the government of the day (which fortunately changes often enough not to get entrenched). The BBC is funded mainly by the television license, which is just over 100 pounds per year for anyone who uses a (colour) TV, whether or not the BBC is ever watched.

This kind of patronising and paternalistic funding system was perhaps appropriate in the 1950s but is not in the 21st century. It is a regressive form of taxation (the poor pay as much as the rich) and since almost everyone owns a TV it is a ridiculously inefficient method of collecting the tax, including armies of people roaming the land looking for people who have not paid the tax. It would make much more sense to use money from general taxation to fund the BBC, assuming it needs to be funded by the State at all.

Even people who do not have TVs would probably prefer to have the BBC funded from general taxation. If you do not use a TV, and so do not need a license, you are often harrassed by the TV licensing authority, who do not believe you ("surely everybody must watch TV in this day and age"). To pay 100 pounds of extra general (e.g. income or sales) tax every year is surely better than being harrassed by the State.

Most State services are paid for out of general taxation although most people do not benefit from the services, the BBC is one example where most people do benefit, and more or less equally, since most people (certainly most taxpayers) do have a TV or access to a TV and watch the BBC.

There is the related question of whether the BBC should be State funded at all. The BBC is a non-commercial service but as anyone who has ever watched British TV knows, the BBC makes some of the best advertisements in the UK, full of fancy graphics and often quite powerful. Only these advertisements are not for general commercial products but for the BBC itself (mainly for its programmes but including plugs for its own commercial products). What's the difference?

The BBC no longer produces TV that is of any better quality than the commercial stations, indeed it is full of superficial and condescending food, gardening and DIY programmes that would fit perfectly well in a normal commercial environment. The BBC is no longer particularly needed, but there is a huge vested interest amongst the selected elite to have the State continue paying for their soapbox.

Further, the BBC is encroaching on other commercial areas, using its muscle to push out or dwarf commercial competitors. The internet is the latest example, where the BBC produces one of the best UK websites knowing full well that it has the financial and marketing clout to make a success of it, whereas its competitors have to sink or swim in the real world.



Link (http://www.cambridge2000.com/memos/tv_license.html)

[von_Moo142]

So you would rather trust huge multinationals to keep their reporting honest?

The BBC is far from perfect, but at least we can hold them to account when they do fuk up. Also they aren't state TV, in that they are independant from the government.

Thanks to paying my license fee I can watch the premiership highlights without adverts. That's something you might understand, but I don't expect many of your countrymen to.

The license inspectorate on the other hand should be subject to a good sacking utill the get their **** together. But the general public should also realise that the inspectors have no more power than any other citizen. I always just tell them to go away, license or not.


They got rid of poll tax ages ago, as you say. It was instigated by Thacher. If you really beleive in the power of buisness for good, then she should be one of your heroines, no?

I'm pretty sure she was a big champion of Murdoch like media empires, and that's what you advocate here. And, FYI, all tax allows you to vote. If you don't pay it, you go to prison. It's the same in your land of freedom, isn't it?

[von_Moo142]

In fact, I'm just about to watch the England match on BBC one.

[TheKiwi]

Ha ha. I NEVER paid my TV license when I was living in UK. I sent all the letters back makred 'Gone no address', even the ones addressed to 'The Householder'.

I'd be damned if I was going to pay for soaps, and documentaries on 'Black Pudding' and 'How grim things are oop north at the coal mines'.

We had a TV license system in NZ, but we got rid of it ten years ago, because the public weren't paying up. Less than 1/3rd of the population was paying. Maybe oppressed Brit's could try that. Overwhelm the thing with refusal to pay.

[Geezah]

So you would rather trust huge multinationals to keep their reporting honest?

The BBC is far from perfect, but at least we can hold them to account when they do fuk up. Also they aren't state TV, in that they are independant from the government.

Thanks to paying my license fee I can watch the premiership highlights without adverts. That's something you might understand, but I don't expect many of your countrymen to.

The license inspectorate on the other hand should be subject to a good sacking utill the get their **** together. But the general public should also realise that the inspectors have no more power than any other citizen. I always just tell them to go away, license or not.


They got rid of poll tax ages ago, as you say. It was instigated by Thacher. If you really beleive in the power of buisness for good, then she should be one of your heroines, no?

I'm pretty sure she was a big champion of Murdoch like media empires, and that's what you advocate here. And, FYI, all tax allows you to vote. If you don't pay it, you go to prison. It's the same in your land of freedom, isn't it?

Yes, Maggie is one of my Heroes along with Winston(we're not all perfect), but the idea of having to pay a tax to vote is outrageous, you don't pay a tax in the US specifcally to allow you to vote ;)

As the article states, even if you don't watch BBC 1/2 you still have to pay a tax for something you don't use/want, atleast in the land of the free you get what you pay for, so in affect you don't pay for things you don't need.
Plus you don't have any MOT or Road Tax bullsh!t over here.

That is one thing about the census that was good, I was homeless at that point, so I didn't have to pay it p-)

Do you know where you were the night of the Poll Tax Riots, I do?

[Geezah]

In fact, I'm just about to watch the England match on BBC one.

Justifying paying a tax for something based on watching the Premier League doesn't cut it for me, I've got Fox Sports(which I want, so I pay for it) which last Xmas me and the Ol Man watched a Spurs game live on.

[Geezah]

Detection and Penalties

What happens if I don't have a TV Licence?

Using a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) without a without a valid TV Licence is against the law and could lead to prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000, not to mention the embarrassment and hassle of a court appearance.

How will you know if I don't have one?

There are a number of ways we can find out.

At the heart of our operation is the TV Licensing database of over 28 million home and business addresses, telling us which of these have TV Licences.

All of our enforcement officers have access to this database and will check whether or not you have a licence. If you are using a TV and are unlicensed, you could face prosecution and a hefty fine.

We have a fleet of detector vans, plus, our enforcement officers have access to hand-held detection devices capable of detecting a magnetic field when a TV is switched on. In fact, we catch an average of over 1,000 people watching TV without a licence every day.


TV Detector Vans

Our TV detector vans and enforcement officers are equipped with state-of-the-art detection equipment which can tell in as little as 20 seconds whether you are using a TV.

How do the detector vans work?

We have a range of detection tools at our disposal in our vans. Some aspects of the equipment have been developed in such secrecy that engineers working on specific detection methods work in isolation - so not even they know how the other detection methods work. This gives us the best chance of catching licence evaders.

What if you can't get close enough to detect my TV in your van?

We can use a hand-held scanning device. These measure both the direction and strength of a signal, making it easy for us to locate TVs - even in the hardest to reach places.


Link (http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/)

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

As I sit here at work and listen to Capital Radio, they keep on playing commercials for TV License's(and the how they know if you don't have one) and boy that is one thing I do not miss, just like the Poll Tax(which I think has been replaced again by the Council Tax).
For those of you that do not know what these are, the TV License is something you must have in GB to watch television and the Poll Tax replaced the Council Tax which in a way was basically a tax that allowed you to vote.
That's why I love America, the land of the free and that's why Team Euro-Wussie will never understand our way of thinking.

P.S. Don't forget Road Tax or the MOT :(


BBC Television License

The BBC television license is a UK anachronism which would bemuse the citizens of most countries of the world. The BBC is State television, but State television which is run by an elite nebulous clique rather than directly by the government of the day (which fortunately changes often enough not to get entrenched). The BBC is funded mainly by the television license, which is just over 100 pounds per year for anyone who uses a (colour) TV, whether or not the BBC is ever watched.

This kind of patronising and paternalistic funding system was perhaps appropriate in the 1950s but is not in the 21st century. It is a regressive form of taxation (the poor pay as much as the rich) and since almost everyone owns a TV it is a ridiculously inefficient method of collecting the tax, including armies of people roaming the land looking for people who have not paid the tax. It would make much more sense to use money from general taxation to fund the BBC, assuming it needs to be funded by the State at all.

Even people who do not have TVs would probably prefer to have the BBC funded from general taxation. If you do not use a TV, and so do not need a license, you are often harrassed by the TV licensing authority, who do not believe you ("surely everybody must watch TV in this day and age"). To pay 100 pounds of extra general (e.g. income or sales) tax every year is surely better than being harrassed by the State.

Most State services are paid for out of general taxation although most people do not benefit from the services, the BBC is one example where most people do benefit, and more or less equally, since most people (certainly most taxpayers) do have a TV or access to a TV and watch the BBC.

There is the related question of whether the BBC should be State funded at all. The BBC is a non-commercial service but as anyone who has ever watched British TV knows, the BBC makes some of the best advertisements in the UK, full of fancy graphics and often quite powerful. Only these advertisements are not for general commercial products but for the BBC itself (mainly for its programmes but including plugs for its own commercial products). What's the difference?

The BBC no longer produces TV that is of any better quality than the commercial stations, indeed it is full of superficial and condescending food, gardening and DIY programmes that would fit perfectly well in a normal commercial environment. The BBC is no longer particularly needed, but there is a huge vested interest amongst the selected elite to have the State continue paying for their soapbox.

Further, the BBC is encroaching on other commercial areas, using its muscle to push out or dwarf commercial competitors. The internet is the latest example, where the BBC produces one of the best UK websites knowing full well that it has the financial and marketing clout to make a success of it, whereas its competitors have to sink or swim in the real world.



Link (http://www.cambridge2000.com/memos/tv_license.html)
The Poll Tax a Conservative notion first inflicted on Scotland when it was launched in England and Wales they had a riot.

[von_Moo142]

you don't pay a tax in the US specifcally to allow you to vote

And we don't here. In fact the Poll tax wasn't intended to do that either, and was a bad idea on many levels.



The TV license isn't really a tax as the government don't get the money.

I can see the point that people make when thye say that if you don't watch BBC channels you shouldn't have to pay. This is actually a viable option now, as a digital feed could be used for those who want to "opt out".

But at the same time, the BBC does protect us somewhat from Murdoch/Turner/Berlusconi type media empires. I think that's worth paying for. PBS doesn't do so well in the States due to a lack of funding, and most don't care that much about that over there. Fair enough, if that's what you want. But I'm not sure that we want that, for all the moaning we do about license fees (don't forget: we moan about almost everything, but it doesn't always mean we care that much ;-) ).



Justifying paying a tax for something based on watching the Premier League doesn't cut it for me, I've got Fox Sports(which I want, so I pay for it) which last Xmas me and the Ol Man watched a Spurs game live on.


The match was crap BTW, on many levels. 1-0 to Spain. Rooney needs to grow up (as do sections of the Spanish crowd, unfortuately...), and our midfeild need to learn to pass to their own team. Spain have some very good younger players though, and I wouldn't be suprised to see them do well in the world cup.

[Mark Sman]

We still pay for the BS factory that is NPR here in the US. Gotta get rid of this trust-fund baby augmenter.

[moughoun]

In fact, I'm just about to watch the England match on BBC one.

Justifying paying a tax for something based on watching the Premier League doesn't cut it for me, I've got Fox Sports(which I want, so I pay for it) which last Xmas me and the Ol Man watched a Spurs game live on.
Spurs!!!, you poor man :hug: :lol:

[Geezah]

In fact, I'm just about to watch the England match on BBC one.

Justifying paying a tax for something based on watching the Premier League doesn't cut it for me, I've got Fox Sports(which I want, so I pay for it) which last Xmas me and the Ol Man watched a Spurs game live on.
Spurs!!!, you poor man :hug: :lol:

My Ol'man is a hard core Yid........O p-)

[Geezah]

The TV license isn't really a tax as the government don't get the money.

I can see the point that people make when thye say that if you don't watch BBC channels you shouldn't have to pay. This is actually a viable option now, as a digital feed could be used for those who want to "opt out".


Do I need a licence?

If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one.

That's from the TV License website? Doesn't say anything about opting out it even goes so far to say that you have to pay it even if your blind :cantbeli:



But at the same time, the BBC does protect us somewhat from Murdoch/Turner/Berlusconi type media empires. I think that's worth paying for. PBS doesn't do so well in the States due to a lack of funding, and most don't care that much about that over there. Fair enough, if that's what you want. But I'm not sure that we want that, for all the moaning we do about license fees (don't forget: we moan about almost everything, but it doesn't always mean we care that much ;-) ).

I used to watch the news on BBC America but have moved on to FOX and Friends in the morning, I find out of all the news organisations over here they are as fair and balanced as they possible could be.

[moughoun]

The TV license isn't really a tax as the government don't get the money.

I can see the point that people make when thye say that if you don't watch BBC channels you shouldn't have to pay. This is actually a viable option now, as a digital feed could be used for those who want to "opt out".


Do I need a licence?

If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one.

That's from the TV License website? Doesn't say anything about opting out it even goes so far to say that you have to pay it even if your blind :cantbeli:



But at the same time, the BBC does protect us somewhat from Murdoch/Turner/Berlusconi type media empires. I think that's worth paying for. PBS doesn't do so well in the States due to a lack of funding, and most don't care that much about that over there. Fair enough, if that's what you want. But I'm not sure that we want that, for all the moaning we do about license fees (don't forget: we moan about almost everything, but it doesn't always mean we care that much ;-) ).

I used to watch the news on BBC America but have moved on to FOX and Friends in the morning, I find out of all the news organisations over here they are as fair and balanced as they possible could be.
now your just taking the piss, Fox and friend's, sure E.D Hill is a bit of a MILF ;) , but God, I just want to kill that Doocey guy, Kilmeade's funny though

[Geezah]

The TV license isn't really a tax as the government don't get the money.

I can see the point that people make when thye say that if you don't watch BBC channels you shouldn't have to pay. This is actually a viable option now, as a digital feed could be used for those who want to "opt out".


Do I need a licence?

If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one.

That's from the TV License website? Doesn't say anything about opting out it even goes so far to say that you have to pay it even if your blind :cantbeli:



But at the same time, the BBC does protect us somewhat from Murdoch/Turner/Berlusconi type media empires. I think that's worth paying for. PBS doesn't do so well in the States due to a lack of funding, and most don't care that much about that over there. Fair enough, if that's what you want. But I'm not sure that we want that, for all the moaning we do about license fees (don't forget: we moan about almost everything, but it doesn't always mean we care that much ;-) ).

I used to watch the news on BBC America but have moved on to FOX and Friends in the morning, I find out of all the news organisations over here they are as fair and balanced as they possible could be.
now your just taking the piss, Fox and friend's, sure E.D Hill is a bit of a MILF ;) , but God, I just want to kill that Doocey guy, Kilmeade's funny though

For me it's
http://www.foxnews.com/images/1299/9_21_350_huddy_juliet.jpg
Juliet Huddy
p-)