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Computer owners in Germany will need a TV licence in future after German TV and Radio Licensing Authorities proved PCs could be used to watch the telly.The fee will be collected whether the computer has been equipped to receive radio and television with a "TV card" or not, and will apply to all PCs with an internet connection from January 1, 2007.
News story courtesy of Ananova.com [ananova.com]
I love this stuff, you just can't make it up! One expects that the BBC is watching with extreme interest, as will be the rest of the world!
As Michael Faraday is alleged to have said to the Prime Minister of the day when questioned in respect to the application and possible benefits of electricity:
"One day, Prime Minister, you will be able to tax it..."
Syzygy
Ah, the presumption of guilt, contrary to all legal principles, which is why I have to pay a tax to the music industry for the blank CDs I buy to back up my computer files...
"Church Tax
If you are a member of the Catholic or Protestant Churches you have to pay tax in Germany. There is no tax for members of other religions."
You can also play copyrighted music on them, or so I've heard.
You can also play copyrighted music on them, or so I've heard.
Actually you can do that on any instrument, or so I have heard. I say ban all musical instruments. Actually, better just tax any form of artistic expression, 'cuz it can all have a copywrite.
For more on crazy laws,
[xtratime.org...]
And a less reliable source:
[lawschoolstuff.com...]
I can't help but laugh at these:
- A man may not seduce a woman by lying, and claiming he will marry her.
- It is illegal to wear a bulletproof vest while committing a murder.
- Unless a customer orders it specifically, it's against the law to serve margarine instead of butter at a restaurant.
Unless a customer orders it specifically, it's against the law to serve margarine instead of butter at a restaurant.
That's from Wisconsin, where I think they once tried to ban margarine altogether. Dairy farmers saw it as unfair competition.
You could get in a whole heap of legal disputes?
So if you are a Catholic person playing an piano whilst being in the presence of a PC and eating a ham sandwich with margarine (although you specifically ordered butter) in a German community in Wisconsin....
You could get in a whole heap of legal disputes?
Well, that's just great. I was doing all of that last night while seducing a woman with false promises of marriage. I guess the only issue now is whether I'll get the electric chair or lethal injection.
In Germany, now that computers are also subject to this tax, I'd guess collecting the tax will become easier - it's more difficult to throw all networked computers into a locked room. If it's collected on a per-unit basis, as it was in Belgium, the potential gains could be enormous. It'll be down to determining what is defined as a 'PC'. Is a WAP phone with some rudimentary processing capacities a PC? Or do you stop at handhelds? How about all the net-connected 'thin clients' for regulating dispensers or alarm systems?
I personally think it would be better to tax shoes. People who never go outside, or only go outside barefoot, are less likely to cause crimes, litter, do things that the state has to pay for.
Regarding the religion tax: this is probably a hold-out from the old Code Napoleon. The government took over all church properties in order to dispel the religious tensions of the time, with, in exchange for these properties, the promise to pay the salaries of all clergy. Of course, now that the religious strife is over in these countries, it seems in retrospect like a bad deal. Churches also couldn't rely on donations, like in the US, since members weren't used to being so generous with offerings. Probably the higher taxes also made such offerings a lot less possible / likely. Eventually these taxes probably were placed on the 'religious people' to keep up the funding, but reduce the government's burden. In Belgium, these elements of the Code Napoleon are still in place, the government pays salaries of clergy, and allotments per church are based largely on the birth register, in which the religion of the infant is recorded. Much controversy has ensued from those whose parents registered them as Catholic (most people in Belgium), but don't want to be considered as Catholic, nor have their tax allotment support the Catholic church, and find that getting themselves de-listed as Catholics is difficult indeed.
Registered church parishes are still required to submit forms to the government stipulating things like how many bundles of wood they require for heating purposes, and how many they expect the government to provide them.
Quite odd that a measure which intended a greater secularization of society and regulating control of churches has turned into such a bureaucratic mess tying churches more closely to the government.
Syzygy
Could be wrong but teh fines around £1000 so Ive never tested to see if im right.
I thought you had to have one in the UK if your pc could play DVD's anyway.
Thankfully, no such legislation here yet; hence my original comment about the BBC watching (pardon the unintentional pun) this situation to see how it develops...
Syzygy
The number of people in the UK who have a networked PC but not a telly must be minuscule. I doubt it's worth introducing a separate tax.
Networked PC's...?
You're missing the point here.
It's: Can you watch that which you would traditionally watch on TV via your computer?
Can I watch films via my computer? Can I download programmes, once shown on TV, via my computer? Can my PC take the place of a TV? Is my PC providing the same function as a TV?
The answer to which questions is obviously, 'Yes'.
Do your research into why a TV license was introduced in the first place and then you'll see that PC's are the new TV's under the same legislation.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! Parameters change and thus there are arguments for, and against...
Syzygy
Can you watch that which you would traditionally watch on TV via your computer?
My point here is that the vast majority of people who could use a PC to watch TV programmes already have a TV licence. The rule is one TV licence per household, not one per device. So TV licences for networked computers would not bring in much in the way of extra revenue.
