Everything about the serafe fee: Why do we pay so much for radio and television?

class=”sc-29f61514-0 dXbCZE”>

SSwitzerland tocollection point for radio- and Fevisual fee The Serafe fee currently raises many questions. Is tax actually becoming more expensive? Didn’t we just vote for this? Provides observer overview.

Private households have been paying a fee of 335 francs per year since 2021. Collective households also pay contributions of 670 francs. These include hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools, prisons, asylum centers and others. Companies with annual sales of over 500,000 francs pay a sales-related fee.

In fact, until a few years ago private households paid around 450 francs a year to the previous collection agency, Billag. As of 2019, there was a change in the system: a household’s payment obligation no longer depended on whether it had a radio or television. Since then the tax is device independent and generally has to be paid by each household (and company). With the change in the system, the wage was determined as 365 francs, that is, one franc per day. A flat one-off deduction of 50 francs has been made from the bills of all households in 2021 because the Federal Court had previously ruled in 2018 that VAT was illegally charged on reception fees.

Yes, several times. On 14 June 2015, voters passed a referendum on the Radio and Television Act (RTVG), heralding a change in the system to introduce a tax on all households. On March 4, 2018, voters finally rejected the “No Billag” initiative, which called for the complete elimination of the reception fee.

With today’s tax of 335 francs per household, we pay about the same as in the early 1990s. The overview from the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) shows the development between 1987 and 2018. The total cost of radio and TV fees in 1987 was CHF 279.60. Between 2007 and 2014, the tax was the most expensive at 462 francs.

A new popular initiative wants to limit taxes for private households to a maximum of 200 francs and eliminate them altogether for companies. The initiative is also called the SRG initiative or halving initiative. It is currently pending before the Federal Council. According to media reports, the Federal Council is expected to discuss and comment on this issue on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.

According to research by “NZZ am Sonntag”, the Federal Council plans to recommend rejecting the halving initiative (200 francs per year for private households). He also wants to cut SRG’s budget. The population fee will be reduced from today’s 335 francs to 300 francs. Additionally, only 15 to 20 percent of companies will need to pay fees in the future, instead of the current 25 percent. According to estimates, these measures will mean a reduction in SRG’s income of around 150 to 200 million francs. It seems that the Federal Council plans to make a decision on this issue by regulation without involving the Parliament.

For about 100 years. Sources in the PTT archive show that the federal law “On telegraph and telephone traffic” came into force on January 1, 1924. Those who did not register in time would face a fine of 50 francs. The annual fee is 10 francs. In 1926, the listening fee was increased to 12 francs, and in 1928 to 15 francs. The fee may have been paid with a telephone bill, at least that’s what Bakom and PTT archive employees assume.

Source :Blick