Soon only 200 francs Serafe fees?: Halving initiative coming for the people

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The annual bill is a thorn in the side of many. For the past four years, all households have had to pay the Serafe contribution, even if you never listen to the radio or watch TV. The fee is currently CHF 335. The SVP is too much. Well-known exponents of the party are calling on a popular initiative for a reduction of the membership fee to 200 francs.

As SVP Landsraadslide Thomas Matter (57) now reports, the initiative has come about. You have more than 100,000 certified signatures, Matter tells “PilatusToday”.

“Never experienced collecting signatures so easily”

Matter is confident in an upcoming referendum. They did not want to pay 335 francs a year for the SRG – 200 francs was enough. And most importantly, if the initiative were accepted, companies would be exempted from the fee. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a simpler signature collection,” he says.

The referendum has become known as the halving initiative because the fees until 2020 amounted to 365 francs. It was launched by the SVP, the Swiss trade association and the young liberals.

Opponents have already formed

According to Matter, it is not yet certain when the committee will officially submit the initiative to the Federal Chancellery.

The referendum follows the “No Billag” initiative, which was clearly rejected by 71.6 percent in March 2018. It is directed against the SRG and demands that Serafe fees for radio and television be reduced from 335 to 200 francs per year.

An “Alliance Pro Media Diversity”, made up of 23 personalities from politics, culture, business and civil society, has already united against the initiative. She warns of a “frontal attack on media diversity”. After all, convincing news and background formats could not be financed on the market in small-scale, quadrilingual Switzerland. (sq)

Source:Blick