States may pull the plug on TV licence fee authority GEZ - Germany

Germany's hated GEZ public broadcasting licence fees - required of everyone who owns a television or radio - may be changing soon, daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.

The premiers of Germany's 16 federal states are planning a meeting to discuss reforming the fees scheme that includes a per-household sum instead of the current system, which charges per radio and television, the paper said.

GEZ stands for the mouthful Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or "Fee-collection Centre of Public Broadcasting Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany."

The organisation requires a licence to own and use televisions, radio and since the past few years even the internet. The fee money funds public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF, and is often collected by plainclothes officials who go door-to-door busting fee shirkers.

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Title:

I had my hopes up, but then:

Dashed to smithereens my hopes are!

I'll go with eurovol on this, just a bunch of humbug. Theres a real industry behind this and a lot of jobs in the public broadcast sector. GEZ can probably only be killed by the EU.

As far as I can see, they are not planning on killing the public broadcast sector, just the system of fee per TV. Instead it looks like they are planning on a head tax. I'm sure the GEZ guys will still have a job counting the money.

I rather suspect that a "reform" to the fees will somehow include an increase in them too.................
(or am I being too pessimistic here?)

Other EU countries killed the TV license. I'm OK with my taxes being partially redirected to public broadcasters. This separate tax enforced by a separate agency is just ridiculous. Just merge this into general taxes and stop bothering people. The book keeping and enforcing probably costs a sizable portion of the money collected. All unnecessary.

I agree robinson100, the per household fee will be some formula that some will welcome as a savings, and my guess, most will find themselves paying more than before. The fee now includes car radio's, short wave receivers, radio's, laptops, notebooks & desktops that sport internet connections, TV's...it's quite extensive coverage.
In my household of two we have eight devices capable of radio or Television signal reception. We are required to pay a fee for those we own, even if we do not use them all for the capability that is license-able.
How can a real and fair accessment be appointed each household under a flat License?
How will we fair this change? Will there be an appeal process?
One more 'cost' for the retired pensioner to incur and endure...speaking for myself.

Down with the GEZ...

Virtually every country in Europe has a TV license fee, so I can't see any reason why the EU would want to "kill" it. It pays, as you (presumably) know, for public broadcasting. My gripe with the system is the relatively high cost of the fee compared to other countries. Since I only own the bare minimum of chargeable apparatus, it's likely that my fees would increase yet further under a per-household charge.

The GEZ has to disappear.
I pay a rediculous sum for tv channels which i rarely or do not watch at all.
Then they want a fee for every stupid device you own and now even for the internet.
Their tv ads are a perfect reflection of the arrogance of this organisation.
"For independent media" ... They collect fees for the State media for god's sake. Whats independent about them??
"I pay , simply because its mandatory" ... Oh yeah, thats the best explanation ive ever heard from someone.
I want to punch this guy so badly everytime is see this ad. :-D
Over the decades , the GEZ has transformed into a money eating monster which services arent even nearly worth the money they demand.
Time to chop its extra arms off.

my gripe is them collecting 7,26 billion and still making us watch adds on TV we've already paid for.

Per household sum? I wonder if that includes those without tellies?

I always thought the "pay per item" fee was flawed, so long as you pay for a TV they don't come round knocking. When I first came to Germany I made the mistake and ignored the GEZ because like many here had the belief "Why should I pay it, I don't watch German TV". Crazy idea, as when I didn't pay or protested they just came round and counted up all the radios, TVs giving me an even higher bill if I had just kept quiet and obeyed.
But now I pay for the minimal TV license and I don't mind even though I still don't watch German TV, however like the BBC now I understand that for any public service brodacast to work everyone has to pay for it, it is made available to everyone whether they use it or not. Without a PSB the alternative would be a commercialised TV media like the fragmented system in the US which does little to no public service to educate, inform and entertain.
It seems obvious that the GEZ will go up since if many are like me we aren't paying the full amount and a single tariff will be fair to everyone.

I don't see this changing for the better at all. In Germany,once they impose a tax on something it's never removed. I for one don't see why there is a tax period. Like the column says, it supports stations (Mainly ARD, ZDF and HR-3). All these channels still have commercials which I'm sure they aren't providing for free. I say close down ARD, ZDF and the rest who live off this tax. They can support themselves the same way other private TV stations do.

You need to pay a licence if you own an internet? How much is that?

K